Ansari Announces ‘New Affordability Agenda’ Ahead of AZ-03 Affordability Tele-Town Hall

WASHINGTON - On Wednesday, Representative Yassamin Ansari (AZ-03), who serves as Chairwoman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus' Lowering Costs Taskforce, announced a slate of bold new policies to tackle the cost-of-living crisis facing Americans.

At a time when Arizonans are suffering, the New Affordability Agenda includes big new ideas to bring down the cost of prescription drugs, groceries, housing, utility bills, and childcare. It would also put money in workers' pockets and abolish super PACs.

"As the Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus' (CPC) Lowering Costs Task Force, I've held affordability town halls across the country. And no matter where I go, I hear the same thing: people are not better off today than they were before Trump took office," said Rep. Ansari. "And here in Arizona, it's especially clear that families are being squeezed in every direction, from the gas pump to the grocery store to the rising cost of housing and child care. This agenda is about delivering real relief and making life more affordable for working people across our state."

Building on her affordability work, Ansari will also host a Tele-Town Hall to give constituents an opportunity to hear directly about her efforts to lower costs, learn more about the Affordability Agenda, and ask questions about the actions she is taking in Congress to address the cost-of-living crisis. Follow @RepYassAnsari on Facebook to listen to an audio livestream of the event on Monday, May 4, at 6 pm PT.

Proposals in the Congressional Progressive Caucus' New Affordability Agenda include:

• 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 annually;

• 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;

• Bans 'Surveillance Pricing,' where companies use personal data to raise prices and suppress wages with AI;

• Puts 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 make stuff more expensive.

More details on the New Affordability Agenda are available here.

What they are saying:

Politico: The Congressional Progressive Caucus has a plan for high prices

The Congressional Progressive Caucus laid out 10 prospective bills aimed at lowering the costs of prescription drugs, utilities, gas, child care, housing and more.

Common Dreams: 'Bold Ideas This Country Desperately Needs': Progressive Caucus Unveils Affordability Agenda

"The Congressional Progressive Caucus on Wednesday unveiled a sweeping affordability agenda aimed at combating a cost-of-living crisis that President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans have supercharged with tariffs, a war of choice in Iran, and deep cuts to safety-net programs."

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