WASHINGTON, D.C. – Amid continued anger and polarization in Washington, Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-08) has asked his Freshman colleagues, both Democrat and Republican, to sit together at the President’s address to the joint session of Congress this evening.  Fitzpatrick is the co-chair of the 115th Congress Bipartisan Freshman Class Caucus which seeks to unite members of both parties that were elected to the House in 2016 around common goals and build an atmosphere of civility.

“Last year, Harvard released a report that concluded: ‘The federal government has made no meaningful progress on the critical policy steps to restore U.S. competitiveness in the last decade or more…Today, we believe that our political system is now the major obstacle to progress on the economy, especially at the federal level.’ That should be unacceptable to every member of Congress and every American,” said Fitzpatrick. “I understand there are differences between Democrats and Republicans.  But on the issues where there is common ground, we must move forward together.  I’m committed to working with any member of this Congress to break this cycle and make government work for the American people once more.”

Moreover, on Tuesday evening, Fitzpatrick will join members of the Congressional Problem Solvers Caucus in wearing No Labels’ “Fix Not Fight” lapel pin. This small, but meaningful gesture highlights Fitzpatrick’s constant mission to unite the 115th Congress.

“Right now, the easiest thing for a member of Congress to do is to fan the flames of division,” said No Labels Chief Strategist Ryan Clancy. “This symbolic step by members of the Problem Solvers Caucus shows that there are a growing number of leaders in Congress who reject the angriest and most intransigent voices and who stand ready do everything they can to forge bipartisan agreements to address our nation’s toughest issues.”

The Congressional Problem Solvers Caucus features dozens of members from both parties and the group aims to play a key role in bridging the partisan divide in Washington. On February 14, the Caucus sent a letter to President Trump expressing a desire to work in particular on the related issues of tax reform and infrastructure investment.

On Wednesday, Fitzpatrick will speak at the National No Labels Problem Solvers Conference to discuss the goals of the Problem Solvers Caucus and the role of bipartisanship in crafting legislation in the 115th Congress. You can watch live at 2:30pm at www.nolabels.org