Political wrangling in Washington is as old as the republic itself, and partisan battles over ideas and power will surely be with us long into the future. But the current era of hyperpartisanship has frequently paralyzed congressional decisionmaking and led both Republicans and Democrats to fail the most basic tests of governance.
This failure has had real consequences for real people. When a stymied Congress couldn't agree on a strategy for deficit reduction, it proposed a draconian sequester, across-the-board budget cuts so illogical and unwise lawmakers thought it would force them to act. Yet congressional dysfunction prevailed and the once unthinkable cuts were implemented in early 2013.
Later that year, the same unhealthy dynamic forced the government to shut down for two weeks. These actions slowed the struggling economic recovery and hurt the jobs and incomes of Americans across the country.
Unrelenting partisanship has also led to a routine breakdown of normal spending and budget procedures, to some of the least productive Congresses in modern history, and even to the loss of traditional bipartisan cooperation on foreign policy.
If we are to break out of this straitjacket so our representatives can do what they were elected to do, namely lead and govern, we must end the destructive culture that has emerged on Capitol Hill.
That's why the Lugar Center and Georgetown University's McCourt School of Public Policy are launching the Bipartisan Index, a ranking of all senators and representatives according to their sponsorship and cosponsorship of bills. The index measures how often a member of Congress introduces bills that succeed in attracting cosponsors from members of the other party, and how often they, in turn, cosponsor a bill introduced from across the aisle.
By shining a bright light on members' bipartisan activity — or lack thereof — we hope to encourage them to work together when writing or co-sponsoring legislation, and to raise the level of cooperation and civility.
To be bipartisan does not mean to be a centrist or to seek compromise for its own sake. We are not asking members to alter or deny their political principles. Some of the legislators who rank high on the index are Democrats and Republicans firmly on the left and right wings of their respective parties.