Updated: January 12, 2012
Bipartisan Seating
Find out which elected officials are willing to step across the aisle and sit with members of the other party. Then, write to your members of Congress and tell them that it's time for both parties to sit together.
Click here to see which members of the Senate are sitting with members of the other party.
The Problem
Prior to President Obama's 2011 State of the Union speech, some members of Congress agreed to leave their partisan encampments and sit next to someone from the other party during the address. The fact that this was considered unusual and even exceptional speaks volumes about the low bar that's been set for cooperation in Congress.
More often than not, seating in Congress resembles boys and girls at a middle school dance, with each side keeping an (un)comfortable distance from one another. Even the seating on House and Senate committees – which are supposed to carry out the business of government and not the business of parties – usually has Democrats and Republicans on opposite sides.
The No Labels Solution
It's time to curb the cliques in Congress. At all joint meetings or sessions of Congress, each member should be seated next to at least one member of the other party. On committees and subcommittees, seating also would be arranged in an alternating bipartisan way (one member would be seated next to at least one member of the other party) by agreement between the chair and ranking member. One option would be to arrange bipartisan seating in order of seniority.
This proposal can be imposed by House or Senate leadership.
Click here to view the full Make Congress Work! action plan.
