A bipartisan group of senators has urged their party leaders to lunch together once a month in the hope of building “better and more productive relationships” in the Senate.
“It is our hope that our respective leadership teams take concrete steps to broaden the relationships and deepen the rapport among members,” the senators wrote in a letter Friday to current Majority Leader Harry Reid and incoming Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. “Specifically, we believe that monthly bipartisan lunches would serve this goal.”
The effort was spearheaded by Sens. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., and Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., and signed by 30 colleagues equally divided by party.
The group said their request was inspired by a bipartisan meeting held in the Old Senate Chamber last year, when members were given time to air grievances after Reid threatened to change the Senate’s filibuster rules — a threat he followed through with months later.
“As you know, nearly half of the members of the Senate are currently serving their first term, a level not seen in 30 years. Soon more new members will join our ranks,” the senators said. “We believe that regular bipartisan meetings like the one in July 2013 can help foster the kind of productive relationships that will be critical for the Senate to live up to its reputation as the world’s most deliberative body.”
The senator added that since the Democratic and Republican caucuses already meet separately at least twice weekly, “surely scheduling a bipartisan lunch just once a month would make for a workable option.”
