Today, in anAgri-Pulseeditorial, the Chairman of the Blue Dog Special Task Force on Rural America, Rep. Tom O’Halleran (AZ-01), and the Co-Chair of the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee (DPCC), Rep. Cheri Bustos (IL-17), sent a clear message to rural America: The gridlock in Washington does not reflect the values of the rural communities around the country – and that has to change.

The Blue Dog Coalition has endorsed the Problem Solvers Caucus’Break the Gridlock, a package of proposed changes to the House Rules that would make Congress work for the American people. The Blue Dog Coalition is the first official caucus within the U.S. House of Representatives to back the proposal since the Problem Solvers Caucus introduced it.

Last week, the Blue Dog Coalition releasedA Strong Rural America, an agenda that outlines the path to prosperity and restoring the American Dream in rural communities across the country. The agenda is intended to provide a roadmap for Congress to take a commonsense, bipartisan approach to revitalizing rural communities and addressing the level of inequality between rural and urban America. The effort was led by Rep.

Today, the Blue Dog Coalition releasedA Strong Rural America, an agenda that outlines the path to prosperity and restoring the American Dream in rural communities across the country.

Today, the co-chairs of the fiscally-responsible, Democratic Blue Dog Coalition—Reps. Jim Costa (D-CA), Henry Cuellar (D-TX), and Daniel Lipinski (D-IL)—released the following statement in response the release of Rep. Kevin Brady’s (R-TX) listening session framework, “Tax Reform 2.0”:

Yesterday, several members of theBlue Dog Special Task Force on Rural Americawere named as conferees for the 2018 Farm Bill Conference Committee, where Republican and Democratic members will come together in an effort to develop a bipartisan Farm Bill.

Yesterday, the Blue Dog Coalition’sSpecial Task Force on Rural Americaheld its third panel discussion on rural issues.

The Democratic Blue Dog Coalition has endorsedH.R. 6165, the Combating Opioid Misuse Before Addiction for our Troops (COMBAT) Act. This bipartisan bill prevents the overprescription of opioids to active duty servicemembers, their families, and retirees who use TRICARE by requiring the Department of Defense to implement a seven day first-fill limit for opioid prescriptions.

Today, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released the2018 Long-Term Budget Outlookreport. According to the CBO, federal debt held by the public will approach 100 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) within the next 10 years and 152 percent of GDP by 2048—far surpassing any amount of debt our country has ever held.

Yesterday, the Blue Dog Coalition’sSpecial Task Force on Rural Americaheld its second panel discussion on rural issues. The Task Force met with representatives of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), Midco, and the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC of America) to discuss ways we can strengthen our nation’s rural economy.