Today, the Lugar Center and the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University released their Bipartisan Index ranking members of Congress for their commitment to working across the aisle during the 116th Congress. Rep. Dean Phillips ranked 12th among the 437 members of the House of Representatives who served throughout that period, putting him in the top 3% of his peers when it comes to bipartisan policymaking.
“My first term in Washington was more challenging – both for Congress and the country – than I ever imagined,” said Rep. Phillips. “Through it all, I never lost my faith in the power of bipartisan dialogue or my mission to inspire a new era of collaboration in Congress. Especially during times of crisis, Americans of all ideologies must come together, build bridges, generate ideas, and produce results to move our country forward. Here’s to more meaningful teamwork in the years to come.”
The Bipartisan Index measures how often a member of Congress introduces bills that earn co-sponsors from members of the other party and how often they in turn co-sponsor legislation introduced from across the aisle. The Index excludes non-binding resolutions and ceremonial bills, seeking to encourage lawmakers to be more bipartisan when writing or co-sponsoring meaningful policy.
In the 116th Congress, Rep. Phillips’s bipartisan accomplishments included:
- Serving a leadership role on the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, a group of 29 Democrats and 29 Republicans committed to finding bipartisan solutions to the major issues our country faces
- Authoring the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act with Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), a bipartisan law that made sweeping improvements to the largest small business relief program in American history
- Breaking the gridlock and inspiring a bipartisan compromise on COVID-19 relief signed into law in December 2020
Original source can be found here.
