Our country is facing serious challenges that continue to be left unresolved. The debate over our out-of-control debt is just the most recent point of contention. Stalemates on issues from energy independence to immigration to getting our economy on a sound footing threaten to undercut our nation’s strength, yet Congress has been unable to reach a consensus on legislation to move us forward.
One reason for the gridlock is that members of opposing parties work in completely separate orbits. Lawmakers rarely interact on a bipartisan basis, and instead are locked in competition, hesitant or unwilling to put forward solutions.
The resulting partisan rancor is holding us back as a nation, and it’s why we’re leading an effort to find a way to bridge the divides and work together.
As members of congressional families, we know firsthand that the tone in Washington hasn’t always been so negative. Our fathers both served in the legislative branch — combined, their tenures spanned the Kennedy administration through 9/11 — and it gives us a unique perspective on Congresses past. The Congress they served in was more collegial, which contributed to getting major things done. Civil rights, the space program, the Trans-Alaska pipeline, Medicare and the end of the Cold War are among the many accomplishments reached through bipartisan cooperation.
Then, unlike now, members of opposing parties interacted more often — partly out of necessity. Our fathers represented far-flung Western states; going home required a long and expensive airplane trip. In their day, lawmakers got to know and understand one another.
One profound reality of present-day Congress is that many members barely know one another, and our routine is structured to keep us divided.
This partisan dysfunction is broadcast for the American people each year when the president delivers his State of the Union address. By tradition, lawmakers sit divided by party, with one side cheering and applauding the president, while the other sits silent and sullen.
Last year, following the shooting of our House colleague Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and 18 others, we led an effort to ask Congress to abandon partisanship for the State of the Union address and sit together. That rare moment of true unity in the chamber changed the conversation from what divides us to what we have in common.
This year, we’re calling on Congress to permanently end the tradition of divided seating. This idea, originally proposed by the think tank Third Way and now being promoted by the bipartisan group No Labels, will help Congress display a sense of common purpose, not partisan division.
But we also believe we must go further to build cross-party relationships and find ways we can work together. To start, we’re calling on our colleagues to reserve one weekend each year for a bipartisan retreat in which members of both parties leave their offices and take time together to look closely and thoughtfully at the issues on the Congressional agenda and identify opportunities and forums to build on potential areas of policy agreements.
This, too, is a small step. But it’s an important one that we believe could help clear some of the partisan rancor in Washington — and make Congress more functional.
Bipartisan seating and retreats won’t be a panacea. They won’t end hyper-partisanship overnight. But they’re a step in the right direction that is starting to generate some real grassroots support.
Mark Udall is a Democratic senator from Colorado and Lisa Murkowski is a Republican senator from Alaska.
