This has been a month when some in Washington have been trying to emphasize differences, and accusing political opponents of greed or worse. Meanwhile, the Republicans and Democrats in charge of the many congressional committees that have jurisdiction over health benefits bills in the 119th Congress have been trying, at least for a few quick moments, to encourage bipartisanship.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, the Louisiana Republican who now serves as the chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, emphasized the many times he has worked well with the committee’s previous chairman, Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont who far to the left of the Democrats, but who caucuses with the Democrats anyway.
“Although we have disagreed, and I have no doubt we’ll continue to, when we work together and commit to the process, good things happen,” Cassidy said.
In addition, Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, talked about committee members’ common interest in protecting the most vulnerable in our society, including children and seniors.
“Our work for the future is built on this committee’s success in the previous Congress,” Walberg said. “We passed bipartisan tax legislation 40-to-3 in this committee, and then passed the bill with 82% support on the House floor. It’s been about a decade since that’s happened.”
House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, noted at his committee’s organizational meeting that the committee managed to pass 17 bills, including 11 bipartisan bills, in the 118th Congress.
The committee passed more bills during the 118th Congress than it had during any other Congress, Arrington said.
“When we can find common ground, that’s a much more sustainable path,” Arrington said.
Arrington pointed out some of the bipartisan bills related to the budgeting process, such as efforts to improve the data that budget analysts at the Congressional Budget Office get.
“I hope we can continue to work on fixing the broken budget process together,” Arrington said. “We have to do something. Some of the things we have to do will require both sides to work together or they won’t get done; and then there will be real pain, and serious consequences. I’m talking about Medicare, and Social Security, that are already on a glidepath to insolvency.”
Rep. Brendan Boyle, R-Pa., the highest-ranking Democrat on the committee, also talked about the need for bipartisanship and maintaining a tone of civility and seriousness.
“I’m not a debt alarmist,” he said. “But the projects in the medium-term are frightening.”
Boyle recalled hearing former Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, talking about how bankruptcy works.
“It happens slowly first, then all at once,” Boyle said, recalling Romney’s observations. “We’re getting closer and closer to that day when it’s all at once.”
Lawmakers at the health-related committees must also acknowledge from time to time the reality that we all get sick and we all get old in a world where resources are often cruelly limited.