Tuesday Group
| Tuesday Group | |
| House | |
| Leadership: | Susan Brooks (R-IN), co-chair John Katko (R-N.Y.), co-chair Fred Upton (R-MI), co-chair |
| Established | 1994 |
The Tuesday Group is a congressional caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives that aims to support what the group considers to be moderate and center-right legislative positions.
According to the website of Tuesday Group former Co-Chair Charlie Dent (R-Pa.), the caucus is "a group of center-right Republicans dedicated to promoting fiscal responsibility, personal independence and a strong national defense."[1]
History
The Tuesday Group was established shortly after the 1994 election cycle, when Republicans gained seats in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. The group originally consisted of 40 Republican members who aimed to support what the group considered to be moderate policy positions. The caucus' membership declined following Republican electoral defeats in the 2006 election cycle, but grew again to around 40 members by 2011. By 2015, Bloomberg reported that the caucus' membership had grown to 50 members.[2][3]
In a 2015 interview with Bloomberg, Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.) described the Tuesday Group's members as legislators who "share the same sense of an affirmative obligation to govern and are committed to developing real solutions, building consensus, and achieving results." [4]
Leadership
117th Congress
| Tuesday Group[5] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Member | Party | State |
| Rep. John Katko - Chair [6] |  |
New York |
| Rep. Blake Moore - Vice chair [7] | |
Utah |
115th Congress
As of June 23, 2019, the co-chairs of the caucus were Susan Brooks (R-IN), John Katko (R-N.Y.), and Fred Upton (R-MI).[8] Former co-chairs include Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), Charlie Dent (R-Pa.), and John Katko (R-N.Y.).[9] Tom MacArthur (R-N.J.) resigned as a co-chair on May 23, 2017, after disagreements over the amendment to the American Health Care Act that he developed in negotiations with the House Freedom Caucus.[10]
Members
115th Congress
The Tuesday Group did not have an official membership list for the 115th Congress. The caucus was estimated to have between 40 and 50 Republican members in April 2017. A November 2017 press release stated that the caucus had 50 members.[11][9] According to media reports, other known caucus members included the following representatives:[11][12][13][14][15]
| Tuesday Group[16] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Member | Party | State |
| Rep. Dan Donovan | |
New York |
| Rep. Leonard Lance | |
New Jersey |
| Rep. Frank LoBiondo | |
New Jersey |
| Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen | |
Florida |
| Rep. Chris Collins | |
Florida |
| Rep. Adam Kinzinger | |
Illinois |
| Rep. Rodney Davis | |
Illinois |
Noteworthy events
American Health Care Act of 2017
Members of the Tuesday Group and members of the House Freedom Caucus were unable to agree upon replacement legislation for the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which stalled House efforts to repeal and replace the healthcare bill in late March 2017. The two groups supported differing approaches to key components of the proposed American Health Care Act of 2017, such as tax credits and Medicaid reductions.[17]
Following the failure of Republicans to move forward with repealing and replacing the ACA, Tuesday Group members declined to enter into further negotiations with members of the House Freedom Caucus. Rep. Tom MacArthur, a Tuesday Group co-chair, stated that negotiations between the two groups could be counterproductive by alienating outside Republicans. He argued that continued conversations with the president and congressional leaders would be the appropriate path moving forward.[18]
Rep. Charlie Dent, another co-chair of the Tuesday Group, suggested that the caucus could consider entering into bipartisan negotiations with Democrats in order to develop solutions for the ACA.[18]
“If I were advising the Administration on health care and some other issues, we’re going to have to start working from the center out, rather than what we’ve seen so far," Dent told members of the The Ripon Society on April 6, 2017.[13]
Trump administration officials, including Vice President Mike Pence and Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, called a meeting with members of the Tuesday Group on the afternoon of April 3, 2017, in an effort to re-enter healthcare negotiations. Administration officials met with House Freedom Caucus members later that evening.[11]
"They wanted to start with...those of us who have been strong supporters to brainstorm what we thought," said Tuesday Group member Chris Collins. "I’d just note myself and some of the other Tuesday Group appreciate that the first meeting was with us."[11]
Amendments
On April 13, 2017, House Republicans added a new amendment to the American Health Care Act of 2017 in an attempt to unite the party behind the bill. The amendment was the culmination of negotiations between Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-N.J.), co-chair of the Tuesday Group (a congressional caucus in the House described by co-chair Charlie Dent (R-Pa.) as "a group of center-right Republicans dedicated to promoting fiscal responsibility, personal independence, and a strong national defense"), and Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), head of the House Freedom Caucus. According to Politico, House members had been aiming to vote on the bill as soon as the final week of April.[19][20][21]
The amendment proposed allowing states to obtain a waiver from certain minimum coverage and consumer protection standards under Obamacare, such as measures that prevent insurers from charging consumers higher premiums due to pre-existing conditions. According to Politico, states needed to be able to "offer an alternative that reduces premiums, enhances competition or increases the number of people with coverage" in order to obtain a waiver.[22][23]
The revised bill garnered the endorsement of members of the House Freedom Caucus on April 26, 2017.
"While the revised version still does not fully repeal Obamacare, we are prepared to support it to keep our promise to the American people to lower healthcare costs," caucus members said in a statement.[24]
Though the amendment earned the backing of House Freedom Caucus members, Politico reported that many centrist and moderate Republicans remained undecided or opposed to the legislation as of April 27, 2017, including several members of the Tuesday Group.[22]
"My goal is to try to get everyone struggling with the bill to get to yes," MacArthur told CNN. "No bill will satisfy everyone. This is certainly not a perfect bill."[25]
In an attempt to earn support for the bill from centrist and moderate Republicans, Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) introduced an amendment on May 3, 2017, that proposed providing states with an additional $8 billion over five years to fund high-risk pools for individuals with preexisting conditions. The amendment boosted Republican support to the 216 votes they needed.[26]
The House passed the legislation by a vote of 217-213 on May 4, 2017. The United States Senate considered three amendments/modifications to the legislation, but none of these passed.[27]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms House Freedom Caucus. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- 115th Congress on the American Health Care Act of 2017
- Republican Main Street Partnership
- House Freedom Caucus
- Republican Study Committee
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ House Republicans, "Charlie Dent," accessed March 23, 2017
- ↑ The New York Times, "The 1994 Elections: The Overview; G.O.P. Wins Control of Senate and Makes Big Gains in House; Pataki Denies Cuomo 4th Term," November 9, 1994
- ↑ New Republic, "Tuesday Mourning," January 18, 2011
- ↑ Bloomberg, "'Moderate' is Now a Dirty Word For Some House Republicans," January 9, 2015
- ↑ WBAL TV 11, "Freedom Caucus, Tuesday Group meet with Pence," April 3, 2017
- ↑ Congressman Dave Joyce,"Joyce Elected as Chair of Republican Governance Group," July 27,2022
- ↑ Congressman Dave Joyce,"Joyce Elected as Chair of Republican Governance Group," July 27,2002
- ↑ House of Representatives, "Congressional Member Organizations," accessed June 23, 2019
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Congressman Charlie Dent, "Tuesday Group Caucus Elects John Katko as Co-Chair," November 8, 2017
- ↑ Politico, "MacArthur resigns as co-chairman of 'clearly divided' Tuesday Group," May 23, 2017
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Newsweek, "Revenge of the Republican Moderates," April 5, 2017
- ↑ Roll Call, "Republican Members Opposed to GOP Health Care Bill," March 22, 2017
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 The Ripon Society, "Dent, MacArthur & Katko share their thoughts on the course of the health care debate," April 6, 2017
- ↑ United States Representative Tom MacArthur, "MacArthur Elected Co-Chair of Tuesday Group," January 10, 2017
- ↑ WBAL TV 11, "Freedom Caucus, Tuesday Group meet with Pence," April 3, 2017
- ↑ WBAL TV 11, "Freedom Caucus, Tuesday Group meet with Pence," April 3, 2017
- ↑ Philly.com, "Wavering Pa., N.J. Republicans push for changes in Obamacare repeal," December 13, 2016
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 USA Today, "Republican moderates reject group talks with House Freedom Caucus," March 30, 2017
- ↑ Politico, "White House pressures GOP leaders on Obamacare showdown next week," April 20, 2017
- ↑ CNBC, "Republicans have a new plan to repeal Obamacare — and here it is," April 20, 2017
- ↑ RealClear Politics, "House GOP Again Scrambling for Health Care Votes," May 2, 2017
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 Politico, "Obamacare repeal vote unlikely this week," April 27, 2017
- ↑ The Washington Post, "This amendment could revive the GOP effort to reform health care. Here is its potential impact." April 27, 2017
- ↑ Politico, "Freedom Caucus endorses Obamacare repeal compromise," April 26, 2017
- ↑ CNN, "MacArthur explains health care amendment," April 27, 2017
- ↑ The New York Times, "With $8 Billion Deal on Health Bill, House G.O.P. Leader Says ‘We Have Enough Votes,'" May 3, 2017
- ↑ The New York Times, "House Passes Measure to Repeal and Replace the Affordable Care Act," May 4, 2017
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