The Congressional Progressive Caucus Center (CPCC) is the advocacy and think-tank arm of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, ¹ a left-wing U.S. Congressional caucus of Democratic U.S. Representatives. ² The CPCC works to move the Democratic Party’s policy platform further to the left on issues including abortion, labor, environmentalism, health care, and fiscal policy. ³

The group has an affiliated lobbying arm, the Congressional Progressive Caucus Action Fund. ⁴

Finances

According to the Congressional Progressive Caucus Center’s 2023 tax returns, the group reported $2,012,755 in revenue, $1,816,923 in expenses, and $4,525,204 in net assets. ⁵

In 2023, the group donated a $100,000 grant to the labor union-affiliated think tank Economic Policy Institute. ⁵

Political Advocacy

Budget and Appropriations

The Congressional Progressive Caucus Center (CCPR) referred to the Trump administration’s 2021 budget proposal as a “brutal insult to the American people” and criticized the administration for funding the military, claiming that the proposed budget “favors corporate interests and the expansion of the military-industrial complex over the basic needs of the people of our country.” ⁶

CPCC has a history of resisting military funding to advance left-of-center interests. After criticizing the Trump administration for its plan to construct a wall along the United States southern border, CPCC successfully pushed for the provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act in the House of Representatives that limit the use of military construction funding for domestic projects to $100 million. ⁷

CPCC has also argued against the use of military funding to promote domestic security, working to advance both U.S. Representative Hank Johnson’s (D-GA) bill to limit the donation and sale of surplus military equipment to law enforcement and U.S. Representative Lydia Velasquez’s (D-NY) bill to completely repeal the Department of Defense’s 1033 Program. The 1033 Program allows the federal government to transfer military equipment to federal, tribal, state, and local law enforcement agencies across the country. ⁷

Abortion

CPCC supports the repeal of the Hyde Amendment, which would allow the federal government to use public funding to pay for abortions and support abortion clinics. ⁷ In 2019, the CPCC supported U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth’s (D-IL) Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Act of 2019. If passed, the legislation would not only allow for the federal government to provide general funding for abortion clinics, but also cover the upfront cost of individual abortions through Medicaid. ⁸

Trade

In August 2025, the CPCC released an explainer detailing its position on trade which sought to approach the issue from a “progressive, pro-worker point of view.” The report criticized tariffs levied by President Donald Trump but also criticized previous free trade agreements claiming they were designed to protect corporate interests. The group claimed that widening trade deficits with Mexico and China suppressed employment and that free trade agreements “failed to protect working families, devastated American communities centered around industrial production, and sparked a race to the bottom, accelerating economic inequality.” The report claimed that offshoring and the threat of offshoring weakened labor unions and took away the bargaining power of American employees. ⁹

The report claimed that tariffs were neither inherently good or bad and if they were deployed in a “targeted” manner, they could help protect American jobs and improve labor and environmental standards all over the world. CPCC claimed that tariffs alone were not sufficient to bring back jobs but had to be used in conjunction with other subsidies as part of an industrial policy. CPCC claimed that the goal of bringing back manufacturing jobs was not sufficient on its own, but also needed to prioritize the restoration of unionized jobs. The CPCC accused President Trump of using tariffs in part to reward friends and punish enemies by forcing companies to give him favors to receive relief. ¹⁰

On August 4, the CPCC’s account on X (formerly Twitter) released a post arguing, “This isn’t just economic policy—it’s a racial, gender, and climate justice issue.” ¹¹

Labor

CPCC has argued for left-wing labor policies, including increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour and forcing every worker to accept a labor union-negotiated contract. ¹² CPCC also supports the implementation of a labor-union-preferred “joint employer” standard, a rule that would require both a franchiser and the franchisee to be held liable by workers in case of lawsuits and would require both parties to be involved in collective bargaining with labor unions. ¹³

CPCC has supported federal legislation to enact such policies, advocating for U.S. Representative Bobby Scott’s (D-VA) Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which would place a gag rule on employers by forbidding them to discuss negative impacts of unionization with their employees. The proposed legislation would also expand the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) power, allowing the NLRB to force bargaining parties to reach an agreement on key employment terms against their will. ¹⁴

Environment

CPCC advocates for increased government intervention in environmental policy, supporting legislation to create “union green jobs,” transfer the entire United States to environmentalist energy, and to oppose traditional energy companies. ¹⁵

In April 2025, the CPCC released an explainer encouraging labor unions to use federal subsidies of up to 70 percent of costs to install weather-dependent energy at union halls, to use federal subsidies to increase their bargaining power with nonprofit and government employers, and to encourage them to install weather-dependent energy at their offices. ¹⁶

Health Care

CPCC supports a “single-payer” healthcare controlled and funded by the federal government. The system would force all hospitals and doctors to be in-network for all patients and dramatically increase the amount of people who use federally-funded health insurance. ¹⁷ In May of 2019, CPCC released a paper in support of single-payer healthcare. ¹⁸

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

In September 2025, the CPCC released an explainer on artificial intelligence (AI) and how it relates to work. The group claimed that AI could be used to expand employer control over workers by giving AI more of a role in efforts to “screen, hire, monitor, direct, evaluate, surveil, discipline, and fire workers, often without transparency, human oversight, or processes for workers to appeal decisions,” all of which could deepen inequality. The report also criticized the lack of federal regulation of AI. ¹⁹

The CPCC recommended that the U.S. Congress pass “federal standards for transparency, accountability, data privacy, fairness, and worker voice in AI deployment.” In addition to regulating AI, the CPCC recommended that the U.S. Congress “expand workforce development programs alongside robust safety nets, including wage insurance, portable benefits, and stronger unemployment systems. Invest in public-interest AI tools designed to support workers and democratic accountability.” ¹⁹

Leadership

Gohar Sedighi is the executive director of the Congressional Progressive Caucus Center (CPCC). She previously worked as legislative director for U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) and earlier, she worked for former U.S. Senator Al Franken (D-MN) and the U.S. Department of Education. ²⁰

U.S. Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX) is the chair of Congressional Progressive Caucus, the congressional body aligned with the CPCC. Casar, as of June 2025 serves as representative for Texas’s 35th congressional district. Prior to Congress, Casar served seven years on the Austin City Council, where he created a three-tier plan to reduce the police department budget in the city. Over $20 million was cut directly from the Austin Police Department, while another $80 million was redistributed towards civilian functions such as forensic sciences, support services, and victims’ services out of the police department. An additional $50 million was reallocated to a “Reimagine Safety Fund” to support alternative public safety and community programs. ^{21 22} Casar was also the founding co-chair of the Local Progress Policy Institute in 2021 until his departure in 2022. The Local Progress Policy Institute was started by the Center for Popular Democracy in 2012, until it became a separate organization in 2021. ^{23 24}

As of December 2023, Robert Borosage, who is the president of the Institute for America’s Future and a left-of-center political commentator, was the group’s chair. ⁵

1. Killough, Ashley. “Congressional progressives get their own center” CNN. Accessed September 12, 2020. https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/09/politics/congress-progressives-center/index.html
2. Axelroad, Tall. “Progressives look to flex their muscle in next Congress after primary wins” The Hill. August 14, 2020. Accessed September 12, 2020. https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/511928-progressives-look-to-flex-their-muscle-in-next-congress-after-primary-wins
3. “Our Work” Congressional Progressive Caucus Center. https://www.progressivecaucuscenter.org/our-work
4. Progressive Caucus Action Fund. Accessed September 22, 2025. https://www.progressivecaucusactionfund.org/.
5.  “Congressional Progressive Caucus Center, Full Filing – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. Accessed September 22, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/203714244/202413059349301706/full.
6. “Explainer – President’s Budget for FY 2021” Congressional Progressive Caucus Center. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5a5414caf9a61e90a854b98c/t/5e555fcae7a8396af1e48783/1582653387160/President%27s+Budget+analysis.pdf
7. “Explainer – FY 2021 National Defense Authorization Act” Congressional Progressive Caucus Center. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5a5414caf9a61e90a854b98c/t/5f5a7a93bcf6f37ae10495fb/1599765139705/FY+2021+NDAA+Explainer.pdf
8. “Issues – Reproductive Rights” Congressional Progressive Caucus Center. https://www.progressivecaucuscenter.org/issues/reproductive-rights
9.   Steffens, Sara. “Approaching Trade and Tariffs from a Progressive, pro-Worker Point of View.” Congressional Progressive Caucus Center, August 1, 2025. https://www.progressivecaucuscenter.org/approaching-trade-tariffs.
10. Steffens, Sara. “Approaching Trade and Tariffs from a Progressive, pro-Worker Point of View.” Congressional Progressive Caucus Center, August 1, 2025. https://www.progressivecaucuscenter.org/approaching-trade-tariffs.
11. “Congressional Progressive Caucus Center .” X (formerly Twitter), August 4, 2025. https://x.com/WeBuildProgress/status/1952462259529384063.
12. “Issues – Worker’s Rights” Congressional Progressive Caucus Center. https://www.progressivecaucuscenter.org/issues/workers-rights
13. “Explainer-The joint-employer standard and the National Labor Relations Act” Congressional Progressive Caucus Center. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5a5414caf9a61e90a854b98c/t/5e57e992205c1c35098be12e/1582819730433/epi-joint-employer-nlra-final-feb-2020.pdf
14. “CPC Endorsed Bills.” Congressional Progressive Caucus Center. Accessed October 1, 2020. https://cpc-grijalva.house.gov/endorsed-bills/.
15. “Issues – Environment & Climate” Congressional Progressive Caucus Center. https://www.progressivecaucuscenter.org/issues/environment-climate
16. Steffens, Sara. “Building Worker Power and Good Jobs in Your Community with Federal Clean Energy Refunds.” Congressional Progressive Caucus Center, April 23, 2025. https://www.progressivecaucuscenter.org/building-worker-power-and-good-jobs-in-your-community.
17. “Issues – Healthcare for All” Congressional Progressive Caucus Center. https://www.progressivecaucuscenter.org/issues/healthcare-for-all
18. “Assessment of the Congressional Budget Office Study: Key Design Components and Considerations for Establishing a Single Payer Health Care System” Congressional Progressive Caucus Center. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5a5414caf9a61e90a854b98c/t/5ce410efeb38bc0001ef0b05/1558450415479/CPCC_Pollin_CBO_single-payer.pdf
19.  Steffens, Sara, and Katherine Eyster. “Introduction to AI and Worker Power: Understanding Key Issues and Impacts for Workers.” Congressional Progressive Caucus Center, September 11, 2025. https://www.progressivecaucuscenter.org/explainer-2025-09-11.
20. “Gohar S.” LinkedIn. Accessed September 22, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/gsedighi/.
21. “About.” Representative Casar. Accessed June 3, 2025. https://casar.house.gov/about.
22. Venkataramanan, Meena. “Austin City Council Cuts Police Department Budget by One-Third, Mainly through Reorganizing Some Duties out from Law Enforcement Oversight.” The Texas Tribune, August 13, 2020. https://www.texastribune.org/2020/08/13/austin-city-council-cut-police-budget-defund/.
23. “Local Progress Announces New Board Leadership.” Local Progress, December 10, 2020. https://localprogress.org/2020/12/10/local-progress-announces-new-board-leadership/.
24. “Strategic Framework 2022.” Local Progress. 2022. https://localprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/LP-Strategic-Framework-2022.pdf.