The partisan gridlock on Capitol Hill must end now, U.S. Rep. Tom Reed (R-NY) told the Ripon Advance Monday, and the bipartisan House Problem Solvers Caucus is leading the charge.
“It’s really causing problems that we all know need to be resolved,” said the New York congressman, who pointed to stalled federal immigration reform as an example of the nation’s ongoing legislative logjam.
“The gridlock prevents immigration deals on border security and Dreamers,” he said, the latter referencing the undocumented students and youth who primarily comprise the group formed around the Dream Act of 2017, H.R. 3440 / S. 1615, which is under consideration in both chambers of Congress.
On this issue, lawmakers “can’t come together because each side is too afraid of left- or right-wing extremists,” Rep. Reed said, “so, we end up getting bogged down in partisan politics.”
Enter the House Problem Solvers Caucus, which Rep. Reed co-chairs with his Democratic colleague, U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ).
The bipartisan group is made up of 24 Republicans and 24 Democrats who work to establish common ground on a variety of issues, including immigration, health care, and the nation’s opioid epidemic, among others. When the Problem Solvers Caucus gets to 75 percent agreement on a bipartisan proposal, including 51 percent of Democrats and 51 percent of Republicans, the caucus agrees to take the position as one group.
The members also agree never to campaign against another caucus member.
“We have created a culture of trust and we are putting the American people first before partisan gridlock,” he said. “We join in the frustration of the American people who say enough is enough, let’s start getting things done for the American people back home.”
Rep. Reed hosted a home-state event on Aug. 17 at Elmira College where he and Rep. Gottheimer jointly discussed the caucus and members’ efforts to cooperatively end the partisan gridlock in Washington, D.C.
“Most importantly, there is a group of us in the Problem Solvers Caucus that is about friendships,” Rep. Reed said during an interview with a local NBC news affiliate in Elmira, N.Y., following the lawmakers’ discussion last week.
Rep. Reed told the Ripon Advance that the Problem Solvers Caucus is tackling the resulting negative impact of partisan politics on federal policy by establishing an environment in the group that encourages lawmakers to be more willing to lead on controversial issues and to exchange ideas.
“Josh and I have spent hours together” — after the media departs and the spotlights are turned off, he said — “focusing on common ground as opposed to the partisan divide that exists in Washington.”
During Friday’s event, for example, Reps. Reed and Gottheimer discussed leading the Problem Solvers Caucus to find common ground to fix U.S. immigration laws, the nation’s broken health care system and deteriorating public works infrastructure, as well as their plans to reform House Rules.
“The Problem Solvers Caucus is working to change the culture in Washington, a culture that believes in attacking problems, not people,” Reed said during the event. “Josh and I work to lead conversations about some of the nastiest and most politically divided issues facing our nation – and together – have put forward bipartisan proposals and changes to the House rules to solve problems for the people back home and get Washington working again. I am proud to call Josh a friend and would like to thank him for joining me in Elmira.”
Rep. Reed noted that the Problem Solvers Caucus has been around for six to eight years. During the last two years, however, he said, “a group of us in the caucus decided that the caucus had become more of a political talking point rather than a substantive group.”
Working closely with No Labels, a nonpartisan, nonprofit political organization, caucus members on July 26 released their Break the Gridlock package of proposals and goals to help build consensus around House Rules changes slated for January 2019.
The package includes proposals to give fast-track priority consideration to bipartisan legislation and guarantees markups on bipartisan legislation from every member of Congress.
To encourage consensus-driven governing, for instance, the package would replace the current “Motion to Vacate the Chair” House rule with a public petition process signed by one-third of U.S. House members to earn privileged consideration on the House floor and a full House majority (218 votes) to successfully remove the Speaker from his/her position, according to the five-page Break the Gridlock document.
By supporting this proposal, caucus members aim to prevent the Speaker of the House from “being held hostage by a small fraction of his/her party,” according to the document.
“Due to the House floor being controlled by a select few, most members of Congress are not able to bring their ideas and proposals to the House floor for a fair vote that would allow us to begin solving some of the most contentious issues facing our country today,” Reed noted.
Post-release of Break the Gridlock, Rep. Reed said the caucus has become a much more cohesive group, and he added that during the two years it took to develop the document, he and Rep. Gottheimer “just hit it off and we’ve developed a really close working relationship” in the group.
He also said that Rep. Gottheimer has demonstrated “he’s the type of legislator we need in Washington,” because he’s not afraid to debate the issues, find common areas of interest, and resolve them.
Rep. Gottheimer made it clear that he feels the same about Rep. Reed.
“I am always proud to call Tom a partner in breaking the gridlock in Washington and getting to yes on common-sense solutions for our country, but I am even more proud to call Tom a friend,” said Gottheimer during the Elmira event.
“The bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus works the way Washington is supposed to work. You get to know your colleagues on both sides of the aisle. You develop relationships. You work together. And you figure out how to solve problems for the people of your district,” he told the college audience.
The Elmira event hasn’t been the only place where the two congressmen have shared the stage in support of the caucus.
Last month, they were in Rep. Gottheimer’s home state where on July 10 they were part of the Meadowlands Chamber of Commerce’s speakers series in Hackensack, N.J. They discussed how the Problem Solvers Caucus is also trying to reach common ground on how to help businesses expand and grow the U.S. economy.
On July 10, the caucus duo also met with a bipartisan group of 13 mayors and municipal officials at the Arena Diner in Hackensack to discuss best practices for local leaders to boost their federal return on investment, bring businesses to their towns, and work with their bipartisan colleagues to solve problems.
By traveling to each other’s districts, Rep. Reed said he and Rep. Gottheimer together represent what most Americans want from Washington: “a willingness to work across the aisle, a determination to get to ‘yes,’ and the political will to make hard choices that benefit all Americans.”