US government shutdown underlines the essential role of bipartisan collaborations

As the US debt ceiling deadline is approaching quickly, both members of the House of Representatives and the Senate are working towards an agreement on the budget.

Even though the Democratic members of the House of Representatives just rejected the Republicans’ fiscal plan, a group of twelve Democratic and Republican senators are working hand-in-hand on a deal to end the federal government shutdown.

Amy Brundage, the White House spokeswoman pointed out the efforts made by the Senate: “Democrats and Republicans in the Senate have been working in a bipartisan, good-faith effort to end the manufactured crises (…). With only a couple days remaining until the United States exhausts its borrowing authority, it’s time for the House to do the same”.

Senator Susan Collins from Maine, who is currently one of the leaders of the bipartisan group, is also the leading moderate Democrat in the United States Senate. She just introduced a budget plan that was first rejected by the White House, but then reconsidered as the basis of the group discussion. The plan discussed aimed at funding the government through March, raising the debt ceiling enough to last through January and giving time to negotiate a longer-term budget. Finally, the plan would have left “Obamacare” alone, but would have replaced for two years a device tax that would help fund the law.  “Although Senator Collins is a Republican, she always votes her conscience, ever-mindful of what is best for Mainers and Americans. Because of her independent and moderate philosophy, she sometimes crosses party lines to vote with Democrats”, said Mary Dietrich, Sen. Susan Collins Chief of staff.

Senator Collins has never been blamed for being part of bipartisan committees by always making sure to represent Maine’s interests, which tends to be a Democratic-leaning state.“She is one of my favorite senator”, said the Senate Democrat leader Harry Reid. This statement can probably be justified by the fact that she has very often taken part into bipartisan negotiating committees. In deed, she joined the bipartisan group to oppose the “Partial birth-abortion Act”, and was the first Republican to vote for the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Repeal Act of 2010. 

Groups of moderates emerged during the post-WWII era in the Congress, and fought to find a middle ground by searching for points of compromise. In the past 10 years, those groups have disappeared and that is to blame on the polarization of American politics.
Members of the House of Representatives are often representing homogenous blocks of voters, namely either belonging to “pure” left or right wing. “With our system of democratic government: a Democratic President, a Republican House, and a Democratic Senate, it is essential that all three find ways to compromise to move legislation forward”, added Senator Collins’ chief of Staff.

This bipartisan way of solving divergences of opinion amid political debates is frequently used for urgent matters, as can be seen from the “Gang of 14” Congress leaders, which broke the deal that took off the table the “nuclear option” in 2004.