The 12-member group that House Democrats hope will help you notice all the work they’ve done

The Regional Leadership Council is the White House’s new partner in implementing the big laws from last Congress with a focus on equity and inclusion — and raising voter awareness while they’re at it.

Former Democratic Leader Steny Hoyer, the new chair of the Regional Leadership Council, a group of House Democrats responsible for helping the White House implement recently passed laws and raise awareness of their benefits. Photo by Nathan Posner/Getty Images

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FIRST THINGS FIRST

Now that Congress is divided with Republicans controlling the House and Democrats the Senate and President Joe Biden expected to announce his reelection campaign soon, there’s a low expectation around Capitol Hill that lawmakers will pass any major bills beyond the must-pass legislation to fund the government, lift the debt ceiling and the farm bill.

For congressional Democrats, it’s a reality that offers an opportunity this year to not only implement the landmark laws President Biden signed into law last Congress — including the bipartisan infrastructure law, the first gun safety legislation in three decades, a bill to boost domestic research and manufacturing of semiconductors in the United States and the sprawling Inflation Reduction Act — but also promote these measures to swaths of voters who may be unaware of their practical impact.

The Regional Leadership Council, a 12-member group representing each of the twelve regions of the House Democratic Caucus and chaired by former Leader Steny Hoyer, is current Leader Hakeem Jeffries‘s solution to produce seamless coordination with the White House and increase public awareness across the country.

“A lot has been accomplished,” Jeffries said to reporters last week ahead of President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address. “In some ways, it’s an abundance of riches that we are now responsible to communicate effectively to everyday Americans that Democrats have delivered and perhaps most importantly, we will continue to deliver.”

For Democratic Rep. Troy Carter of Louisiana and a member of the RLC whose region covers Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and his home state, this translates to speaking about the laws in terms of how they improve the economic well-being of working families and not tools to score political points.

“We touch a lot of people but we want to make sure those people know the work that we’re doing in Congress and that they’re feeling the effects of it,” Carter told Supercreator. “This Regional Council will be charged with the task of making sure that not only we’re informing people, we’re making sure that those resources are being fairly distributed.”

Democratic Rep. Robin Kelly of Illinois said that promoting the inclusive and equitable implementation of the laws would be a personal priority and one that the Biden administration shares.

“Our job is to make sure what we did pass gets implemented and working with the White House, working with local electeds, whether it’s the governors, because sometimes the money goes in but where does the money go? And is it in an equitable manner that the money is spread around?”