Bipartisanship and our Congress: on the critical need for comfy couches

For those of us here at I Vote My Vote, the function of our Congress, both the House of Representatives and the Senate, is an issue of the greatest importance. It is for this reason that a reading of the February 21 online article in Roll Call entitled “One plan to modernize Congress? A coworking space” caught our eye.¹

The article relates how the House of Representatives is “moderniz(ing)” and finding a “new era” of bipartisanship to get things done. The answer to this critical legislative need it seems, is just as simple as finding a location in a House of Representatives office building…the Cannon House Office Building…to install some comfy couches so that the House members’ “staff can grab a Coke and just sit down and chat.” It is proudly described as a “Staff Collaboration Space.” This ‘modernization’ by the House Administration Modernization Subcommittee, is just one of some of the first efforts at improving the House of Representatives’ bipartisanship. Since the subcommittee’s establishment in 2019 it has been able to pass some 60 new changes to legislative branch operations with support from both sides of the political aisle.

Examples of those 60 new changes passed with bipartisanship in the subcommittee include a new app that helps scheduling for Representatives’ committee meetings so that they’re not scheduled to be in two places at one time and another application that helps determine which flags are to fly over the Capitol building. The funding for all this bipartisanship comes from a “Modernization Initiatives Account”, and amounted to $10 million in 2023 which is an increase of $8 million over the previous allocation. One of the co-Chairs of the subcommittee, Oklahoma Republican Representative Stephanie Bice, described the funding that the subcommittee receives as “…a small amount of money, so we have to be very diligent and make sure that we’re using it wisely and choosing projects that get the most bang for our buck.”²

To this end, future efforts at bipartisanship to be tackled by the subcommittee will include such crucial projects as:

• “Keeping constituents and their problems from falling through the cracks.”
• “Accessibility at the Capitol for people with disabilities.”
• “Congress’ lack of a rapid continuity plan in the event of a mass casualty event.”
• “A proposed constitutional amendment around the State of the Union address.”
• “How the House handles vacancies.”
• “An army of institutional stewards” to see that the House works better.”³

For us here at I Vote My Vote, these efforts of bipartisanship seem to be extremely small potatoes compared to the enormously important issues facing the nation such as a budget deficit that is out of control and which threatens to derail any real economic progress for the vast majority of us. There is no bipartisanship support for closing our southern border which still admits thousands of undocumented migrants every day and uncounted numbers of potential terrorists. There is no effort made by representatives of both political stripes to rein in the actions of a corrupt and incompetent executive branch. These are just a few of the crucial problems that our House of Representatives needs to address with honest efforts at bipartisanship. Instead, the congress members crow about comfy couches for their staff.

Join us here at I Vote My Vote and help us expose our great need for political leaders that actually address real needs of the people. It’s time we elect a Coalition of Common Sense!⁴

1. Papp, J. (2024). One plan to modernize Congress? A coworking space. Roll Call. Retrieved from https://rollcall.com/2024/02/21/one-plan-to-modernize-congress-coworking-space/
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. See the previous blog entitled: “To head off deficit disaster the US Congress needs a coalition of common sense.”

1. Q: What is the House Administration Modernization Subcommittee focusing on?

Ans: The subcommittee is focusing on implementing minor improvements to promote bipartisanship in Congress, including creating a “Staff Collaboration Space” with comfy couches and passing around 60 changes to legislative operations.

2. Q: What are some criticisms of the subcommittee’s efforts?

Ans: Critics argue that these minor improvements distract from addressing more pressing national issues like the budget deficit, border security, and executive branch oversight. They question the effectiveness of spending $10 million on minor comforts when larger issues remain unresolved.

3. Q: What does I Vote My Vote advocate for?

Ans: I Vote My Vote advocates for a shift in focus towards addressing significant national issues and electing political leaders who prioritize tackling these issues over minor comforts for staff members.