How Problem Solvers Caucus Attacks Gridlock in Congress. Don Bacon & Kurt Schrader

Let's Find Common Ground

USC Dornsife Center for the Political Future

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5 • 2.7K Ratings

🗓️ 3 February 2022

⏱️ 25 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

From the outside, Congress appears broken. Bills get bogged down in partisan fights, leaders openly smear each other, and animosity between members is at an all-time high. But our guests show that if you look closer, you’ll find a group of dedicated politicians working together across the aisle to craft workable legislation and get things done. Republican Congressman Don Bacon represents Nebraska’s 2nd District. Democrat Kurt Schrader represents Oregon’s 5th District. Both are members of the congressional Problem Solvers Caucus, a group equally split between Democrats and Republicans who are committed to finding common ground on key issues. In our surprisingly candid conversation, we get a peek behind the curtain at what’s really going on in Congress, how the infrastructure bill was passed into law, and the harmful effect the media has on Americans’ view of politics.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Two outsiders, Congress, seems totally gridlocked.
0:03.8	Bills get bogged down in partisan fights.
0:07.2	Party leaders openly smear each other.
0:10.3	We heard about the budget mess in our last podcast,
0:13.8	but our guests today show that if you look a little closer,
0:17.7	you'll find a group of dedicated members of Congress
0:20.8	working across the aisle to get things done.
0:24.2	This is Let's Find Common Ground. I'm Richard Davies.
0:33.5	And I'm Ashley Nontite.
0:35.1	On this episode, we talk to two members
0:37.1	of the Congressional Problem Solvers Caucus.
0:40.2	This group is equally split between Democrats and Republicans
0:43.5	who are committed to finding common ground
0:45.6	on key issues facing the country.
0:48.1	Republican Congressman Don Bacon is a retired
0:50.9	Brigadier General in the US Air Force.
0:53.2	He represents Nebraska's second district.
0:56.1	Democrat Kurt Schrader is a former veterinarian.
0:59.4	He represents Oregon's fifth district.
1:02.6	We start with a question for Congressman Schrader.
1:06.0	When we look at media coverage of Congress right now,
1:09.0	it seems like we're at an absolute low point for cooperation
	...

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