This spring has been a particularly intense stretch for us. Congress is deep in debates over two of our core issues – housing and energy – and we’ve been on the Hill every week pushing them forward. And after comprehensive strategic planning last fall, we’re spinning up longer-term projects that will expand our impact well beyond D.C. Here’s what’s happening.

What We’re Doing

On the Hill

Big news for the bipartisan Congressional Build America Caucus: Rep. Celeste Maloy (R-UT) has joined Rep. Josh Harder (D-CA) as co-chair – a pairing that underscores what makes this caucus effective in a divided Congress. The BAC continues to lead on geothermal energy and housing, hosting focused member and staff briefings and building the kind of bipartisan coalitions that actually move legislation.

The push for a landmark housing package hit some speed bumps last month when anti-supply measures were added to the Senate bill. We helped coordinate more than 100 pro-housing organizations to sign two coalition statements backing targeted changes to the bill – statements that were cited by Senator Brian Schatz on the Senate floor and got coverage in the Washington Post, the New York Times, and NOTUS. For more on the complicated dynamics and the path forward, check out our head of government and external affairs Baillee Brown’s take in The Abundant Future.

On energy, permitting reform talks are back after we signed on to a letter encouraging Senate leaders to move forward on comprehensive permitting legislation. This is a huge step closer to Congress reaching a deal that could unlock faster, cheaper building for energy projects across the country.

And on government effectiveness, we released a new report and explainer on AI and the federal workforce, followed by a Congressional staff briefing featuring experts from Google, Accenture Federal Services, and the Partnership for Public Service.

Expanding the Agenda

As Matt Yglesias notes, abundance is a bit like the half-drawn horse meme: the housing and energy agenda is fleshed-out but the rest of the policy agenda is still just a sketch. Inclusive Abundance is changing that – more on our larger project soon! – and one of the first areas we’re focusing on is child care. With funding from the Consensus Fund, we’re bringing the supply-side, outcomes-oriented abundance lens to child care policy. If you know policy experts or thought leaders in this space, we want to hear from you. We’re building a community around child care abundance and could use your help connecting us to the right people.

Making the Case

We’ve also been busy spreading the news of abundance far and wide. In January, our head of policy Joshua Seawell moderated a conversation with Build America Caucus members Reps. Scott Peters and Laura Friedman at the Festival of Progressive Abundance in Los Angeles. Baillee spoke at the Democracy Journal conference in February, and in March, Derek and Baillee spoke with DC Abundance about our work to build a larger abundance movement.

Last month at an NYC summit on next-generation leadership, Derek also moderated a conversation with Governor Mikie Sherrill about the ways in which abundance can be part of how Democrats fix the party’s brand and deliver more for voters. (As she’s been modeling!)

Meanwhile, our Substack, The Abundant Future, is continuing to ramp up. We’ve published several pieces worth checking out, including:

• Catherine Vaughan of Abundance New York on how Gov. Hochul and Mayor Mamdani are finding common ground through abundance

• Rep. Josh Harder on how abundance will help build a politics of hope, ambition, and growth

• Sonja Trauss of YIMBY Law on what the next big housing plan should look like

• And our own Joshua Seawell on whether abundance’s quest for growth leads to happiness

We’re also making the abundance case to Congressional candidates and their staff behind the scenes. If you’re connected to a candidate or staff member and think they’d benefit from issue education and support on housing, energy, or government effectiveness policy or messaging, let us know. That’s what we’re here for.

What We’re Thinking

From housing to energy, it’s clear that abundance thinking is shaping the policy debates about how to lower prices. But it’s also been promising that abundance is increasingly influencing the 2028 conversation. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is saying “it’s time to build,” Pennsylvania Gov. Shapiro has made “Get Shit Done” his slogan, and California Gov. Newsom is telling Los Angeles that dragging their feet on housing goals is UNACCEPTABLE (his emphasis, not ours). Meanwhile, we’re seeing this from New York:

Some may still doubt whether abundance has “juice” with voters, but clearly the elected officials leading states and looking to lead the country are all in.

What We’re Reading, Watching, and Listening to

• Joshua and the Metropolitan Abundance Project’s Ed Mendoza explain in the LA Times how to foster YIMBYism through more beautiful development

• Baillee on the Statecraft podcast, giving the inside scoop on how a Congressional office works

• Derek sharing how he’s used his theory of “policy philanthropy” to advance abundance at the Roots of Progress conference last fall (the video is finally out!)

• Two great pieces from The Argument: Jerusalem Demsas pushes back on the idea that abundance advocates aren’t sincere about our criticism of bad regulation, and Kelsey Piper goes after Democrats for delivering reports instead of action

• And two more in The Atlantic: one about why we should let government workers use their judgment more, another about why California has failed to build the housing it needs

What We’re Looking Forward to

We’ll be speaking at WelcomeFest 2026, the largest annual public gathering of centrists, on Wednesday, June 3, in Washington, DC. If you’re interested in attending, register HERE. Hope to see you there!

This newsletter is a product of Inclusive Abundance Action, our 501(c)(4).

First things first: Last week, we launched The Abundant Future, a Substack that will dive into the open questions about the national abundance movement – the strategic debates, the ideological tensions, and the policy fights on Capitol Hill. We then celebrated at a packed party with a conversation featuring Rep. Jake Auchincloss and Marshall Kosloff. Check out our first post HERE – then subscribe and share with friends!

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The Abundant Future is one of several ways we’re kicking off 2026 with a bang after a successful 2025. We wrapped up the year with an exciting development in the push for permitting reform: we organized a meeting between Utah Governor Spencer Cox and the Congressional Build America Caucus about the need to build infrastructure and energy faster and cheaper. And later that day, we supported a Congressional staff-level briefing from the energy leads for Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro. These governors organized a letter outlining a promising bipartisan approach for comprehensive grid modernization. See coverage in Politico Pro.

In the new year, we’re planning to grow abundance’s impact on Capitol Hill and with federal candidates across the country. Here’s the latest about our approach:

Our Impact

Inclusive Abundance spent every week last year on Capitol Hill – and that work paid off. The Build America Caucus we helped launch last summer grew from 31 to 41 members (22-D; 19-R) in the fall, in part thanks to our recruitment efforts. And beyond pushing for energy permitting reform, Chair Josh Harder led 30 bipartisan members to demand House leadership pass significant housing reforms.

We’re also excited to add two new members to the Inclusive Abundance team. Please join me in welcoming Gillian Pressman as our new Head of Development and Scott Quinn as our Director of Government Affairs! Get to know Gillian and Scott via their bios and Meet the Team questionnaires, and reach out if you’d like to connect.

We’ve also been busy:

• Joining Third Way and Breakthrough Institute to thank New York Gov. Kathy Hochul for approving the Northeast Supply Enhancement project, which we called a “pragmatic and advisable step in delivering energy abundance and reducing carbon emissions.”

• Sharing the abundance gospel, including at YIMBYTown, the Roots of Progress conference, and at Yale Law School. And at the New Liberal Action Summit, our very own Baillee Brown hosted a panel with Build America Caucus Chair Harder, Majority Democrats’ Rohan Patel, and Francis Fukuyama!

What We Are Thinking

2025 marked the start of the “Abundance Era.” A year ago, abundance was a niche concept debated on X. Now, it’s a full-fledged movement, with candidates increasingly embracing abundance ideas.

It’s been a few months since November, but we shouldn’t forget that the elections proved abundance is already shaping governance. New Jersey governor Mikie Sherrill ran on an abundance-aligned agenda – that we advised her team on! – and four pro-housing, pro-government-efficacy city ballot measures won in New York City. And earlier this month, NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani promised to deliver “an agenda of safety, affordability, and abundance.” Already Governor Sherrill and Mayor Mamdani have worked to accelerate permitting and build more housing – showing abundance is making our leaders better.

If 2025 was the start of a movement, 2026 will be the year it takes off. With Congress continuing to debate housing and energy and the midterms coming up, we see a tremendous opportunity to make the case that more leaders need to campaign and govern on abundance ideas (they don’t need to use the word – it’s all about affordability, economic mobility, and national security).

What We Are Reading

• The Long Run on how 2025 was the year Democrats finally began to act on housing – featuring Derek!

• FAI’s Kevin Hawickhorst on what the abundance movement can learn from the Tennessee Valley Authority

• Derek Thompson on why Democrats have been laser-focused on affordability

• Marc Dunkelman’s NYT op-ed, “What the Left Could Learn from Trump’s Brutal Efficiency”

• Niskanen’s take on core questions for the abundance movement: Abundance of what? Abundance for what?

• Jason Crawford on the difference between the progress and abundance movements – an important follow-up from the Roots of Progress conference!

What We Are Watching

• Derek joined Comcast Newsmakers to explain how abundance answers our country’s housing and electricity challenges

This newsletter is a product of Inclusive Abundance Action, our 501(c)(4).

Thanks for reading Inclusive Abundance Updates! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.