Fulfilling Our Mandate to Sit Down and Talk

Statement

In the wake of the 2012 election--when voters sent to Washington a Republican-controlled House, a Democrat-controlled Senate, and a Democrat president--many pundits scrambled to explain what it meant that Americans chose a divided government. Was anyone given a clear policy mandate? Can anyone claim one now, nearly a year removed from the election and in the midst of a gridlock that has led to a partial shutdown of the federal government?

The answer to such questions is less complicated than many expect, and more obvious than most realize: Republicans and Democrats have a mandate from the electorate to work together.

Unfortunately, that mandate has largely been ignored by Washington for the past year. Across-the-board-cuts to annually funded programs remain in place because some refuse to participate in the process of developing a more specific, targeted plan to reduce spending. A funding agreement between our House and Senate remains elusive as hyper-partisans refuse to negotiate.

This partisan showdown is ugly and unnecessary. While no Congressman or Senator actually voted affirmatively for a lapse in funding for any government services, much of Washington shares the blame for our current dysfunction. Regardless: Now that we are here, it is incumbent on leaders to stop pointing fingers and come together to find a practical solution. For the good of the country, we must fulfill our collective mandate to work together.

Despite the clear evidence that failing to work together got us to this point, the President and Senate refuse to have a discussion about a way forward. They have rejected a resolution from the House to appoint negotiators, and they are currently rejecting a package of bipartisan House-passed resolutions to fund non-controversial areas of government.

Let's acknowledge that principled disagreements exist between our leaders in Washington. But as we approach a default on our national debt, they should sit down together to identify common ground and hash out differences. Instead, President Obama called Speaker Boehner this week for the singular purpose of reiterating his stance of non-negotiation. This isn't the way statesmen solve problems, nor is it what the American people asked for last November.

But there is a bright spot. Since January, I have been involved with the group No Labels and their nonpartisan Problem Solvers coalition. Each Wednesday morning Congress is in session, Republicans and Democrats from the Senate and House meet for breakfast, get to know each other, and search for commonsensical ideas to fix our broken system. We're currently at just over 80 members.

Through this shutdown, the Problem Solvers coalition has provided me the opportunity to speak across party lines with solution-oriented Representatives to discuss ways forward. I've had lengthy phone conversations and meetings with individual Democrats, and we've reached multiple agreements on our nation's fiscal challenges.

But of the 535 members of Congress, we represent only a handful. We'll never reach consensus until more leaders engage in similar dialogue. Respectful, constructive dialogue starts at the top. It's what leaders do, and it's what the American people want.

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