Rep. Summer Lee Joins Progressive Caucus in Unveiling ‘New Affordability Agenda’ to Lower Costs and Take on Corporate Influence

Press Conference Footage

WASHINGTON, D.C. - APRIL 29, 2026 - Today, Congresswoman Summer L. Lee (PA-12) joined members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) in announcing the New Affordability Agenda, a bold legislative package aimed at tackling the rising cost of living for working families across America. Footage of the press conference, including Rep. Lee's remarks, can be found here.

The sweeping agenda includes proposals to lower the cost of prescription drugs, groceries, housing, utilities, gas, and childcare, while also boosting wages, guaranteeing paid time off, and cracking down on corporate price gouging and the growing influence of big money in politics. Rep Lee's Abolish Super PACs Act is a key pillar of the New Affordability Agenda, targeting the flood of unlimited money that allows billionaires, corporations, and special interests to shape policy at the expense of working families. The bill would cap contributions to Super PACs at $5,000 per calendar year, effectively ending Super PACs as vehicles for unlimited political spending and helping restore a democracy where everyday people, not wealthy donors, set the agenda.

"Money in politics touches every aspect of our lives from affordable housing to healthcare to environmental justice," said Rep. Summer Lee, who leads the bill to abolish Super PACs. "It's why we have oligarchs in the White House and special interests influencing our democracy at the expense of working families. I'm proud my Abolish Super PACs will help further the New Affordability Agenda to get money out of politics and bring real solutions to the American people. It's past time we be the party of working people, not the party of corporations."

The New Affordability Agenda directly addresses the biggest expenses facing American families by:

• Making prescription drugs cheaper by establishing a government program to sell generic drugs at a discount, cutting the price of a vial of insulin from $300 to $50; 
• Making utilities cheaper by cracking down on for-profit utilities overcharging consumers, saving the average family $500 a year; 
• Making gas cheaper by charging big oil companies a tax on extra profits because of the war, then refunding that money to consumers. If oil stays at $100 a barrel, most families would get $324 back;
• Making childcare cheaper by guaranteeing no family pays more than 7% of its income - under $10 a day for most families; 
• Making housing cheaper by building millions of new homes, offering every first-time homeowner $20,000 in downpayment assistance, and expanding rental assistance; 
• Making groceries cheaper by cracking down on big grocers who fix prices and on companies that abuse seed patents to make farming more expensive; 
• Making time off cheaper by guaranteeing every worker two weeks of paid vacation time; 
• Banning 'Surveillance Pricing,' where companies use personal data to raise prices with AI; 
• Putting money in pockets by requiring companies to pay double wages for overtime, as opposed to the current time-and-a-half standard; 
• Abolishing Super PACs so billionaires can't buy more policies that makes everything more expensive.

The agenda is backed by new polling showing that each proposal is supported by a strong majority of Americans, including nearly 60% of Republicans.

The New Affordability Agenda is endorsed by a broad coalition of labor, environmental, and advocacy organizations, reflecting widespread support for policies that lower costs and raise wages.

"At a time when Americans are facing not just an affordability crisis but also a deep sense of economic precarity, we need a policy agenda that will deliver real relief and take on corporate abuse," said former Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan. "It's terrific to see a legislative plan that will address these pain points and steer towards an economy that is more fair and competitive."

"While the Administration continues its policies of self-inflicted wounds to our economy and affordability, the Progressive Caucus' New Affordability Agenda demonstrates what it looks like to have an economic policy agenda focused on making the economy work for working families," said Gene Sperling, former director of the National Economic Council. "This agenda insists on putting working families first, whether it is ensuring the development of AI does not lead to higher utility bills or data collection that jacks up grocery prices, to ensuring that child care is never a crushing economic burden; to dramatically expanding affordable housing while ensuring hard-working, reliable renters have a viable path to becoming homeowners."

"People are frustrated about the cost of living and the Trump Administration's refusal to lift a finger to help them," said Bharat Ramamurti, former deputy director of the National Economic Council. "The Progressive Caucus offers several simple, tangible, and understandable ideas that would help lower costs and give people more control over their lives."

"The New Affordability Agenda is an important step forward in answering our call for the money we've earned, the power to hold corporations accountable, and the respect of a seat at the table," said Service Employees International Union President April Verrett. "It's time to stop corporate exploitation and start building an economy where every family can finally get ahead."

"The cost-of-living crisis is not an accident," said Nidhi Hegde, Executive Director at the American Economic Liberties Project. "It's the result of decades of unchecked corporate power that has allowed dominant companies to raise prices on everything from groceries to utilities. The Congressional Progressive Caucus's New Affordability Agenda recognizes that you can't bring down costs without taking on the monopolies driving them up. We're especially encouraged to see protections for independent grocers from price discrimination that drives up food costs, a ban on surveillance pricing that stops corporations from using data to gouge consumers, and reforms to stop ratepayers from subsidizing bloated utility profits. Economic Liberties is proud to support these common sense solutions to save Americans money."

"American Jews want our elected officials to stop funneling billions of dollars into a violent, abusive immigration detention and deportation system, and instead prioritize investment in basic needs that allow communities to thrive," said Jamie Beran, CEO of Bend the Arc: Jewish Action. "The New Affordability Agenda contains exactly the kind of policies members of Congress should be passing to build a country that is safe and thriving for all."

"It's great to see the Congressional Progressive Caucus outlining this bold agenda to stop corporations from ripping us off and to put more money in working people's pockets," said Dan Mauer, Communications Workers of America Director of Government Affairs. "Unchecked corporate greed has left CEOs and billionaires wealthier than ever, while our members pay the price. All members of Congress should support these sorts of real solutions that will help deliver better lives for the working class."

"Families are being priced out of basics-child care, health care, housing, food, utilities-while corporations rake in record profits," said Dorian Warren, Co-President of Community Change Action. "At the core of the cost of living problem is a power imbalance. The Congressional Progressive Caucus' New Affordability Agenda flips the script, shifting power from big corporations back to everyday people who actually pay the bills. Affordability isn't a privilege for a few-it's a right we must secure for all."

"We are excited to see bold new ideas to support workers and families in the CPC's New Affordability Agenda, including tackling the cost of prescription drugs, boosting pay, and giving workers the right to take much-needed time off," said Heidi Shierholz, Ph.D, President, Economic Policy Institute. "Too much of the debate about fixing our economy has focused on prices while ignoring paychecks. But pay is also a policy choice. The CPC's agenda recognizes that true affordability comes when working people earn enough to cover the costs of living with dignity and security."

"The cost-of-living crisis is squeezing families nationwide and Americans can't afford for lawmakers to rely on the same old playbook - it just isn't working," said Anna Aurilio, Senior Director of Campaigns for Economic Security Project Action. "We know that broken incomes and broken markets are driving the affordability crisis. We applaud the New Affordability Agenda for tackling these root causes to deliver some desperately needed relief."

"Corruption in Washington has a real cost, and working families are paying it every time they fill up their gas tanks, buy groceries, or pick up a prescription," said End Citizens United President Tiffany Muller. "This affordability crisis is the predictable result of a political system that puts corporate special interests and billionaires at the center of decision-making in Congress. CPC's New Affordability Agenda takes direct aim at that broken system by cracking down on the unlimited money that fuels it. When wealthy donors can essentially buy politicians through unlimited contributions to super PACs, we end up with a Congress that's unwilling to put the needs of working families first." 

"It is disgraceful that leading corporations, including Amazon and Walmart, are paying many of their workers so little that they have to rely on public assistance," said Tope Folarin, Executive Director, Institute for Policy Studies. "The CPC's New Affordability Agenda will help ease the strain on working families by doubling overtime pay, providing universal childcare and mandatory paid vacation, and other fresh proposals. Capping PAC contributions would also help unrig a political system that now heavily favors the very rich."

"Working families know the system is rigged against them, and the Congressional Progressive Caucus' New Affordability Agenda meets that reality head-on - while Trump and the GOP continue to only pass out favors to corporations and billionaire donors," said Ezra Levin, Co-Executive Director of Indivisible. "By taking on special interests and wealthy corporations, cracking down on price-gouging, and curbing the corrupting influence of big money in politics, this agenda puts accountability first and will deliver real relief by lowering the cost of families' biggest expenses, from health care and groceries to housing, childcare, utilities, and gas. These are bold, clear solutions that put money back in people's pockets and power back in their hands. As we look toward 2027, we need even more policies that sit at the intersection of affordability and accountability, because families shouldn't have to pay the price for a system that's been tilted against them for too long."

"The American people are clear about what they want: for life to be more affordable," said Katie Bethell, Executive Director, MoveOn Civic Action. "This set of proposals from the Congressional Progressive Caucus shows us exactly what it looks like to take our demands for affordability solutions seriously. These policies would make a major dent in the high costs of utilities, prescription drugs, and childcare while also helping people to build a better life by increasing incomes and the ability to buy a first home. These are the issues working people care about and what they are looking for their elected leaders to deliver."

"The New Affordability Agenda is rooted in what families across the country are asking for: lower costs, higher wages, and real economic security," said Progressive Caucus Action Fund Executive Director Gohar Sedighi. "Taken together, these solutions add up to something bigger: a bold legislative agenda that takes on corporate control and corruption, supports working people, and delivers the kind of durable, structural change our economy needs." 

"Bold, innovative policy will be key for a next governing moment. We need renewed focus and attention on the issues that regular people care about--their livelihoods, their healthcare, their housing, their children," said Lisa Gilbert, Public Citizen Co-President. "We must deliver on the core promise to make life better, while also fighting the corruption and moneyed influence that perverts policy at the federal level. This battleship agenda will begin to deliver on that precept, and Public Citizen applauds the initiative."

"Across the country, communities are struggling with the cost of living, from the increased costs of food to skyrocketing energy prices," said Mahyar Sorour, Director of Beyond Fossil Fuels Policy at Sierra Club. "Much of the affordability crisis, especially energy prices, is a self-made disaster driven by policies of the Trump administration. Sierra Club strongly supports the policies laid out in the Congressional Progressive Caucus's agenda to address the root causes of the affordability crisis, including holding polluters accountable for their role in increased utility bills and their massive profiteering at the expense of everyday working people. Sierra Club and its millions of members and supporters are proud to support the CPC's Affordability Agenda and turn this bold vision into reality."

"The CPC has developed a number of important policy proposals that offer the potential for improving living standards for working people," said Dean Baker, economist, author of Rigged: How Globalization and the Rules of the Modern Economy Were Structured to Make the Rich Richer. "They do this by increasing worker power and reducing sources of corruption that contribute to inequality."

Congresswoman Summer Lee serves on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the Committee on Education and Workforce. Since taking office in January 2023, shehas delivered historic levels of federal investment totaling over $2.7 Billion brought back to Western PA, including over $580 million for infrastructure, over $110 million for affordable transit, over $500 million to keep clean energy manufacturing at home in Pennsylvania, and over $55 million on clean energy efforts in and around schools to help keep our kids and communities safe. These investments will help improve Western Pennsylvania's infrastructure and transit, ensure cleaner air and drinking water, lower housing costs, fund research institutions, fuel clean manufacturing, fund STEM innovation and entrepreneurship, boost workforce development, and create thousands of good paying union jobs.  Lee and her team have also delivered casework and constituent services to over 4,000 constituents with issues ranging from helping our seniors and disabled community access Medicare and social security to helping folks secure housing and helping families with immigration support and passports.