Hands of business owner holding hiring sign. Businesswoman hanging hiring sign in cafe entrance. Boss advertising that hr is hiring staff. Small business owner hanging message in shop door At first glance, you may wonder what the four of us have in common, and why we would come together to form, let alone lead, the same caucus.
One of us leads the Republican Study Committee, another the Blue Dog Coalition, another the Republican Governance Group, and another the New Democrat Coalition. We come from different states and different ideological backgrounds, but together, the four of us together represent the vast majority of the House of Representatives.
We disagree on a wide variety of policies. Yet despite those differences, we share a common belief that the American free enterprise system is the cornerstone of the United States’ rise to the world’s preeminent economic and military force. Equally as important, we believe free enterprise is a foundational American value, regardless of political ideology.
Fundamentally, free enterprise is freedom and opportunity. It is the principle that anyone from anywhere can build a better life through hard work and innovation. It is the belief that success should be determined by the value you create and the opportunities you seize, not by who you are, who you know, or where you come from. Simply put, free enterprise is the economic embodiment of the American Dream.
It’s this shared belief that unites us as we come together to launch the Congressional Free Enterprise Caucus.
For generations, support for free enterprise served as a common ground across the broad spectrum of American politics. Republicans and Democrats have always debated, and often disagreed on the appropriate levels of taxation, scope of regulation, and government spending, but there was always a broad consensus that a market-based economy driven by entrepreneurship, private investment, and competition is the primary driver of national prosperity.
Today, that consensus is under pressure.
Loud voices from both political fringes have emerged to routinely question whether free markets remain the best mechanism for creating opportunity and prosperity. While these movements differ in their prescriptions, they share an unhealthy skepticism toward the very principles that have underpinned generations of American economic success.
The U.S. faces intensifying economic challenges around the globe. The national debt exceeds $36 trillion, and rising interest payments increasingly consume resources that could otherwise be invested in other national priorities. Productivity growth has slowed compared to previous decades, labor force participation remains a concern in most sectors, and intense competition from nations, in particular China, threatens America’s position in critical industries ranging from advanced manufacturing to artificial intelligence.
These challenges make promoting economic growth more imperative now than ever before. That is why we built the Congressional Free Enterprise Caucus on three simple principles.
First, economic growth is essential to a nation’s success. America should once again aspire to sustained growth of at least 3 percent annually. This growth rate is necessary to preserving America’s prosperity and maintaining global competitiveness. Federal policy must be deliberately crafted with this objective in mind, and that is exactly what this caucus will advocate for.
Second, growth cannot be divorced from fiscal responsibility. A national debt left unchecked acts as a persistent drag on economic expansion and places an unfair burden on future generations. Every legislative decision this caucus makes will be informed by a commitment to restoring fiscal discipline and ensuring that today’s policymakers do not compromise tomorrow’s opportunities.
Third, regulation must be thoughtful, reasonable, and narrowly tailored. Regulations play an important role in protecting public health, safety, and competition. But excessive or overly burdensome regulation can stifle entrepreneurship and disincentivize investment, generating inherent barriers to growth and limiting the capacity for American businesses to compete globally. We must create a predictable regulatory environment for businesses and workers alike.
The four of us are uniquely positioned within our parties to build broad consensus and support once again for free enterprise principles, and to drive meaningful, lasting legislation. In an era of increasing polarization, we intentionally designed this caucus to build consensus and find common ground for the good of the country. It will serve as a forum where members can engage seriously across party lines, work with industry and stakeholders, and develop real solutions to the nation’s most pressing economic issues.
While we recognize that not every economic question has a bipartisan answer, we believe that America will benefit when both parties remain anchored in a shared belief that growth is good, too much debt is dangerous, and economic freedom is worth defending.
At a time when political incentives increasingly reward division, we are choosing a different path. The American free-enterprise system has delivered more opportunity and prosperity than any economic model in human history, and the Congressional Free Enterprise Caucus seeks to reaffirm this truth. Preserving and strengthening that system is essential to securing America’s economic leadership for generations to come.
August Pfluger is chair of the Republican Study Committee, Lou Correa is co-chair of the Blue Dog Coalition, David Valadao is chair of the Republican Governance Group, and Brad Schneider is chair of the New Democrat Coalition.
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