A bipartisan group of lawmakers is launching the Free Enterprise Caucus, which will have lawmakers of both parties convene to work on policy that strengthens free markets, restores fiscal discipline, and secures America’s long-term economic leadership.
Rep. August Pfluger (R., Texas) is launching the caucus alongside Reps. David Valadao (R., Calif.), Brad Schneider (D., Ill.), and Lou Correa (D., Calif.), the Washington Reporter can exclusively confirm.
For the founding lawmakers of both parties, there’s no time like the present to double down on American free enterprise. The group of Valadao and Pfluger, a dairy farmer and longtime military veteran, respectively, and Schneider and Correa — both of whom spent decades as businessmen before running for office — is optimistic that it can score wins for current entrepreneurs, even in a partisan climate.
“At a time of rising debt, growing economic competition, and increasing pressure on working families, Congress has a responsibility to engage in serious, solution-based discussions about policies that will drive economic growth and opportunity,” Pfluger explained. “The Free Enterprise Caucus is designed to be that kind of forum, where Members from both sides of the aisle can come to the table, share their perspectives, and find common ground on free enterprise policies. I am proud to help launch this bipartisan effort alongside my fellow co-chairs to ensure America remains competitive for generations to come.”
Valadao added that he is “proud to help launch the Congressional Free Enterprise Caucus alongside Reps. Pfluger, Schneider, and Correa to promote policies that empower workers, support small businesses, and make the American Dream possible.”
“Free enterprise has long been the foundation of American prosperity, and I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to advance pro-growth strategies that strengthen our economy for future generations,” Valadao added.
At a time when some Democrats — even in Congress — have grown hostile to the system of free enterprise that forms the basis of the American economy, both Reps. Schneider and Correa are striking a different tone.
“The free enterprise system has been a major engine of American prosperity for generations of Americans,” Schneider said. “By encouraging innovation, rewarding hard work, and fostering competition, it helped transform the United States into a dynamic, world-beating economy. I’m proud to join Reps. Pfluger, Valadao, and Correa to build a coalition that finds common ground across the aisle and keeps pro-growth, pro-worker, and fiscally responsible policy at the center of our agenda. That’s how we secure America’s economic leadership and a better future for working families for generations to come.”
For his part, Correa said that he is “thrilled to join Representatives August Pfluger, David Valadao, and Brad Schneider as founding co-chairs of the bipartisan Congressional Free Enterprise Caucus, which is dedicated to promoting pro-growth, pro-worker, and fiscally responsible policies.”
As a California lawmaker, Correa has confronted cost of living issues for decades; but he thinks that his new caucus can be part of the solution. He noted that “as the American Dream is disappearing for families in our communities and small business owners on Main Street, Washington has an obligation to bolster economic prosperity and upward mobility for all Americans.”
