Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01), Vice Chair of the Problem Solvers Caucus and a member of the Congressional Civility and Respect Caucus, was recently named one of the most bipartisan members of the 115th Congress according to a non-partisan ranking. The ranking, conducted by the Lugar Center of the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University, placed Fitzpatrick second among all members of the House of Representatives, and the most bipartisan member currently serving in the 116th Congress.
The Bipartisan Index of the Lugar Center bases its scoring upon the frequency a Member of Congress introduces legislation attracting cosponsors from members of the other party and, conversely, how often a member of Congress cosponsors legislation from members of the other party. It serves as an important resource for constituents and the media to gauge bipartisanship among elected officials.
“In all facets of life, compromise is essential to achieve results and promote civil discourse, and those standards should still apply in Washington,” said Fitzpatrick. “I am proud to be ranked among the top one percent of all United States Representatives for bipartisanship by the Lugar Center, and will continue to push for commonsense solutions to our nation’s problems that unite both Republicans and Democrats.”
Despite the heightened polarization of American political discourse, recent findings by the Lugar Center suggest that bipartisanship is becoming more common in our nation’s legislative process.
“Despite serious failures of governance during the 115th Congress, including two government shutdowns, Congress experienced an undercurrent of bipartisan cooperation surrounding bill introduction,” said Lugar Center President Richard G. Lugar, who served for 36 years as a Republican senator from Indiana. “Overall Bipartisan Index scores improved for the third straight Congress after bottoming out in 2011-2012. The new Index scores show that even as the rhetoric and overall atmosphere in Washington remains partisan, there is an appetite among many lawmakers for bipartisan problem solving.”
The interim bipartisan scores released last year have been updated to reflect both the first and second sessions of the 115th Congress. This update to The Lugar Center - McCourt School Bipartisan Index is reflective of Fitzpatrick’s improvement to the second-most bipartisan member of Congress.
About the Lugar Center:
Under the leadership of former U.S. Senator Richard Lugar, the non-profit Lugar Center is a platform for informed debate and analysis of global issues, including nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction, global food security, foreign assistance effectiveness and global development, energy securing, and enhancing bipartisan governance.