Joe Lieberman was back on Capitol Hill on Tuesday testifying in support of the Democratic push for Washington, D.C., statehood. Then he met privately with Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of the many Republicans who fiercely oppose such a move. It was a classic agenda for Lieberman, the former Democratic — and later independent — senator from Connecticut who made his reputation building relationships with Republicans. But in a hyperpartisan era, the approach is becoming a relic, a risk underscored later in the day when the GOP united to block a voting rights bill that Democrats say is essential for democracy. Still, Lieberman was undeterred. “There have to be people in both parties who talk to each other, negotiate, compromise,” he insisted. The debate over whether and how the parties should cooperate is coming to a head as a summer legislative flurry intensifies in Congress. The infrastructure package that is one of President Joe Biden’s top priorities may suffer the same fate as the voting bill, emboldening Democrats to move on their own. Many progressives want Democratic leaders to end the procedural hurdle known as the filibuster that allows the GOP to stymie the majority’s priorities. Amid the tension, a small group of lawmakers has huddled privately on infrastructure in recent months to test a different approach. Led by GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana along with Reps. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., they have focused on bridging both the partisan divide and the cultural hurdles in Congress that often prevent members of the House and Senate from working together. “This is a great example of finding common ground,” Cassidy said during a Wednesday meeting. “We’ve still got obstacles, let me just say that, but I am just hopeful that we can do this.” Their success is far from certain. Already, a group of 21 senators from both parties is working with the White House to finalize an infrastructure deal. The senators reached a tentative framework for a deal Wednesday, and Biden invited members of the group to the White House on Thursday. Heading into next year’s congressional primaries, there’s not much energy in either party’s base for centrist politics. But the effort is notable for its buy-in from both ends of Capitol Hill. In one of the bizarre truisms of Washington, as divided as Democrats and Republicans may be, the deeper split can often be between rank-and-file members of the House and Senate. They work in the same building but belong to chambers with different customs. In the House, the majority almost always carries the day and political pressures are never far away, with members facing an election every two years. The Senate in modern times typically requires the consent of 60 members to accomplish almost anything and members face voters every six years. The result is a legislative body that is often at odds. “Even though we’re just a few feet away from each other, it’s like you’re in two different universes,” Gottheimer said. That began to change last year when some members of the House and Senate collaborated to reach an agreement on coronavirus relief. With that experience in mind, Cassidy, Gottheimer and Fitzpatrick found themselves among dozens of governors and members of Congress from both parties who descended on Annapolis, Maryland, in April for an […]

The post One Building, Two Worlds: Bridging Stubborn Gap In Congress appeared first on The Yeshiva World.