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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 22, 2021

Contact: Brooke Lillard, [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>





Blue Dog Coalition Welcomes Rep. Bourdeaux to its Ranks



WASHINGTON—Today, the Democratic Blue Dog Coalition announced it has welcomed freshman Representative Carolyn Bourdeaux (GA-07) to its ranks. In total, the Blue Dog Coalition has 19 members.



“We’re proud to welcome Congresswoman Bourdeaux to the Blue Dog Coalition,” said Rep. Tom O’Halleran (AZ-01), Blue Dog Co-Chair for Communications and Outreach. “Congresswoman Bourdeaux has come to Congress with the purpose to serve her district first and pursue pragmatic, bipartisan solutions to get things done for her constituents. Her record in public finance and her policy priorities make her a natural fit for the Coalition. She cares deeply about getting our nation’s fiscal house in order, strengthening our national security, and delivering real results that will move our country forward. We look forward to her contributions to the Coalition as we look to improve the lives of all Americans.”



“I am very appreciative of the Blue Dog Coalition’s commitment to fiscally responsible solutions that serve the American people,” said Congresswoman Carolyn Bourdeaux (GA-07). “Before coming to Congress, I led the Georgia Senate’s nonpartisan budget office and taught public policy and finance at Georgia State University, so the issues important to Blue Dogs are the ones I have spent my life working on. I thank Chairwoman Murphy, Chairman O’Halleran, Chairman Case, and Chairman Schrader for welcoming me as a Blue Dog, and I look forward to working together to get things done.”



ABOUT REP. CAROLYN BOURDEAUX (GA-07):



Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux represents Georgia’s seventh congressional district. She is a strong advocate for affordable health care, an economic recovery that puts workers and small businesses first, investing in her district's world-class public education system, and developing improved transportation infrastructure to unlock economic opportunity.

Before her election to the U.S. House of Representatives, Bourdeaux taught as a professor of public management and policy at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University, and has served in a number of public service roles during her career.

During the Great Recession, Bourdeaux was the director of the nonpartisan Georgia Senate Budget and Evaluation Office, where she worked with both parties to balance Georgia’s budget and get the state economy back on track. In this role, Bourdeaux advocated for a number of policies to improve transparency and fiscal responsibility in the budget process, and was instrumental in developing legislation to track and account for all tax breaks, including corporate tax loopholes. At the end of her time with the Senate Budget Office, Bourdeaux was honored with a bipartisan special resolution for significant service to the state of Georgia.

In her early career, Bourdeaux served as a legislative aide to U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), where she worked with him on a wide range of policy issues, including improving transit and transportation infrastructure and expanding access to health care and food programs for low income families.

Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux was the only Democratic congressional candidate to flip a red district blue in 2020, inspiring record-breaking voter turnout after coming just 433 votes of unseating a 4-term incumbent in 2018. Her district includes portions of the northeast Atlanta metropolitan area, including portions of Forsyth and Gwinnett counties and cities Peachtree Corners, Berkeley Lake, Sugar Hill, Norcross, Cumming, Lawrenceville, Duluth, Snellville, Lilburn, Suwanee, Grayson, and Buford.



The Blue Dog Coalition’s leadership for the 117th Congress:



* Rep. Stephanie Murphy (FL-07), Co-Chair for Administration
* Rep. Tom O’Halleran (AZ-01), Co-Chair for Communications and Outreach
* Rep. Ed Case (HI-01), Co-Chair for Policy and Legislative Strategy
* Rep. Kurt Schrader (OR-05), Co-Chair



THE BLUE DOG COALITION OF THE 117TH CONGRESS BY THE NUMBERS:



19 members of the Blue Dog Coalition.

100 percent of Blue Dog frontline incumbents outperformed President Biden in their districts in the 2020 general election, including all of those who lost their elections.

33 percent have previous military, national security, or law enforcement experience.

32 percent are people of color.

21 percent are women.



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The Blue Dog Coalition is an official caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives comprised of fiscally-responsible Democrats, who are leading the way to find commonsense solutions. They are pragmatic Democrats, appealing to the mainstream values of the American public. The Blue Dogs are dedicated to pursuing fiscally-responsible policies, ensuring a strong national defense for our country, and transcending party lines to get things done for the American people. Visit our website<[link removed]> to learn more, and get the latest news updates by following us on Twitter<[link removed]> or liking us on Facebook<[link removed]>.