Issue One commends U.S. Chamber of Commerce for adding bipartisanship to congressional scorecard, urges business lobby to join fight for political reform

Issue One CEO Nick Penniman released the following statement: 

A significant sign that change is coming to Washington is that one of the largest political juggernauts in the country — the U.S. Chamber of Commerce — is revising its decades-old Congressional scorecard to account for how bipartisan members of Congress are in their legislative work. The Chamber recognizes that dysfunction in Washington is standing in the way of progress – including economic progress.

And as U.S. Chamber CEO Tom Donohue said, “Lawmakers should be rewarded for reaching across the aisle, not punished.” This is a welcome change.

But anyone interested in fostering greater bipartisanship and creating an environment that enables solving problems must focus on structural political reform. These are the issues that stand in the way of dealmaking – including redistricting, time members of Congress spend fundraising, empowering the rank-and-file in the House and Senate, and other measures.

In fact, there is a Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress that hopes to address some of these very issues as well as dysfunction in Congress as a whole. It is the first such committee in decades and was established with the overwhelming support of 418 Republican and Democratic members of Congress, and the Chamber should support this critical place where Republicans and Democrats work together to end the gridlock that stops congress from addressing our nation’s most pressing challenges.