Bridge Builders in Congress. Reps. Derek Kilmer (D) and William Timmons (R)

Let's Find Common Ground

USC Dornsife Center for the Political Future

News, Trump, Opinion, Usc, California, Polls, Debates, Strategists, University, Education, Government, Universitysoutherncalifornia, America, Presidential, Dornsife, Bipartisanship, School, Democrat, Primaries, Elections, Shrum, Primary, News Commentary, Republican, Analysis, General, Polarization, International, Journalists, Federal, Commentary, Election, National, Conversation, Race, Centerpoliticalfuture, Conversations, Murphy, Moderator, Political, Coverage, Biden, Podcast, Politics

5 • 2.7K Ratings

🗓️ 17 March 2022

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The public’s trust in government is near an all-time low. Now some politicians are recognizing that polarization and division in the United States is a threat to how our democracy functions. In this episode, we hear from two members of Congress: One Republican, one Democrat. Representatives Derek Kilmer and William Timmons both work together on the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress and are leading supporters of the Building Civic Bridges Act — a proposal that would fund federal and local efforts to reduce polarization. We also discuss how bipartisan support for robust measures in response to the invasion of Ukraine may strengthen efforts to improve ties between Members of Congress of both parties. This effort comes at a critical time. Recent polling has found that about four-out-of-five Americans are very or extremely concerned about America's political divisions. "Let's Find Common Ground", produced for Common Ground Committee, is co-hosted by Richard Davies and Ashley Milne-Tyte.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	The public's trust in government is near an all-time low.
0:04.1	Increasingly, members of Congress are recognizing that polarization and division in the United
0:09.4	States is a threat to how democracy functions.
0:13.3	We speak to two of them.
0:14.9	One Republican, one Democrat.
0:22.6	This is Let's Find Common Ground.
0:24.8	I'm Ashley Muntite.
0:26.3	I'm Richard Davies.
0:27.5	Democrat Derek Kilmer and Republican William Timmons are both bridge builders.
0:32.8	They work together on the House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress.
0:37.3	They've already agreed on a series of proposals that could help make Congress function better.
0:43.0	Both congressmen also support the Building Civic Bridges Act, a proposal that would send
0:48.0	funding to federal and local efforts to reduce polarization.
0:51.6	We'll learn more about this in our interview.
0:54.7	We've got a lot of ground to cover.
0:56.3	Ashley, you get the first question.
0:59.4	As we record this, the war in Ukraine is raging.
1:02.8	Do you think Putin's invasion has offered a chance for both parties in Congress to work
1:07.1	more constructively together as they respond to this urgent crisis?
1:12.7	I think so.
1:14.0	You saw during the President's State of the Union, this was one area where there was not
1:18.6	a divide between Democrats and Republicans.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from USC Dornsife Center for the Political Future, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of USC Dornsife Center for the Political Future and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.