Concord Monitor - From Shaheen, a Glimmer of Bipartisanship

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By Unknown

It's become a disheartening cliche to talk about partisan polarization in Washington. Legislators seem less interested in legislating than in scoring points - or in blocking those from the opposing party from getting anything done.

Former politicians and weary commentators reminisce about the mythical good old days, wishing Tip O'Neill or Ronald Reagan or Teddy Kennedy were still around to show the new generation how it's done.

Quietly, though, at least one member of New Hampshire's congressional delegation has actually reached across the partisan aisle, working on commonsense measures that in a less crazy world would be quickly approved.

Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen made headlines last week for leading the fight to allow military health insurance to cover abortions for servicewomen who have been raped. If you're not in the military, it might have come as a surprise to you that this wasn't already the case.

After all, sexual assault and rape are serious problems in the armed services. And even Americans uncomfortable with abortion tend to approve a loophole for women who become pregnant after being raped - especially those who were attacked while serving their country.

And consider the double standard: federal government health insurance covers abortion in the case of rape for women who work in every other sort of government job. The same is true for women who receive health insurance via Medicaid.

So under current law, a white-collar federal office worker or a poor, struggling single parent is protected; a woman serving in Afghanistan is out of luck.

Shaheen's measure deserves quick approval, and we urge New Hampshire's other senator, Kelly Ayotte, to reconsider her inexplicable opposition.

But equally notable is this: In Shaheen's effort to garner support for the abortion measure, she hasn't limited her outreach to pro-choice congressional allies and lobbyists. The measure earned the endorsement of Republican Sen. John McCain as well as two other GOP members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Scott Brown of Massachusetts and Susan Collins of Maine. The Department of Defense supports it too, as does New Hampshire's 2nd District congressman, Charlie Bass.

This isn't the only bipartisan effort on Shaheen's part. She is working with Republicans Dan Coates and Richard Lugar to reduce costly sugar subsidies - a measure that has won the support of the Wall Street Journal, which called it "bipartisan cooperation that the good-government media types ought to be celebrating."

She is working with Republican Pat Toomey to reform the federal crop insurance program in an effort to save significant money.

She was part of the effort to pass a long-term bipartisan transportation bill out of the Senate and is now fighting for the House to consider it before funding runs out.

She and Republican Rob Portman have co-sponsored an energy efficiency measure supported by both environmental groups and the National Association of Manufacturers and U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

And last year, Shaheen and Republican Johnny Isakson proposed the Biennial Budgeting and Appropriations Act, which would make Washington a little more like New Hampshire: budgeting for two years at a time. "Our legislation would dedicate the first year of a Congress to appropriating dollars while devoting the second year to scrutinizing programs to determine if they are working and deserve continued funding," Shaheen says.

All of Shaheen's constituents won't necessarily endorse everything she's working on. But her willingness to share work (and credit) with Republicans makes her an exception to Congress's depressing rule.

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