In June 2016, Pew Research Center released a study, Partisanship and Political Animosity in 2016. It found that Republicans and Democrats in Congress have more mutual animosity and distrust now than any time previously recorded since 1992.
Opinions of those across the aisle, however, extend beyond political quarrels of a professional nature. Sixty-five percent of members of Congress believe that the affiliation to an opposing party is reason enough to pass a character judgement. The Legislative Branch has misconstrued partisan posturing for contempt, and the result is hurting the already agitated American people.
How can lawmakers solve our nation’s most complex dilemmas of healthcare, immigration, social services, and more, if their disdain for one another keeps them firmly planted on their side of the aisle? As Congress begins its summer vacation, this question becomes increasingly frustrating because of the (almost embarrassingly) obvious blueprint of best practice for lawmaking success.
As in many other instances where veterans have exemplified exceptional leadership and civic engagement, the most recent bipartisan legislative victories were led by and focused on former and current service members. Veterans affairs continues to exemplify the power of compromise and pragmatism in Congress.
H.R 3218 passed last week with unanimous support in the House and Senate. This important piece of legislation was the largest expansion of the Post-9/11 GI Bill in a decade. The Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017, commonly dubbed the Forever GI Bill, carried with it 29 provisions and a $3 billion price tag. Pay for strategies caused a heated debate, which left the bill dead back in April. This did not, however, dissuade lawmakers and veteran service organizations (VSOs) from tackling the problem. Instead, politicians and VSOs came together to hash out solutions through compromise. This resulted in a bill that took just 20 days to pass unanimously through the Legislative Branch.
The most recent session of Congress saw very little in the way of meaningful victory, except in the area of veterans affairs. Within just two weeks, the same lawmakers passed bills addressing Emergency Funding for the VA Choice Program, the Forever GI Bill, VA Appeals Reform, and Global War on Terrorism Memorial- affecting millions of veterans and military families.
Many attribute this success to the notion that disrespecting our veterans is taboo or even “political suicide.” But these bills were not easy to get. There were still hearings, debates, amendments, disagreements, and compromises. House Veterans Affairs Chairman Phil Roe and Ranking Member Tim Walz, who debated VA Choice funding on the House floor, had vigorous disagreements. But the success of veteran policy is not a fluke. The fact is, this is one issue that our representatives and senators are approaching the right way.
It is no surprise that an iconic veteran, Senator John McCain, presented this idea of proper policymaking protocol when he spoke on the Affordable Care Act, after being diagnosed with cancer just days prior. McCain said:
“We’ve tried to do this by coming up with a proposal behind closed doors in consultation with the administration, then springing it on skeptical members…What have we to lose by trying to work together to find those solutions? We’re not getting much done apart…There’s greater satisfaction in respecting our differences, but not letting them prevent agreements that don’t require abandonment of core principles, agreements made in good faith that help improve lives and protect the American people.”
He was right. It’s about what we can actually get done; putting pragmatism ahead of ideology when it is necessary and at the very least working together. Veterans issues have been handled this way for decades because they transcend ideology. Politicians of both parties unite to work constructively on passing veterans legislation in a timely manner because the stereotypical political obligation of “taking care of our men and women in uniform” requires following the standard lawmaking process.
But if you are a politician, you carry the same political obligation to the American people. For some reason, Congress begins another vacation still ignorant to this concept, despite it being so obvious.
Mark Footerman is a U.S Army veteran who advocates for meaningful veteran legislation as an intern at Got Your 6, one of the nation’s leading veteran nonprofits based in Washington D.C.
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