Davis and Kilmer work to promote civility and bridge the partisan divide

WASHINGTON, D.C.- U.S. Reps. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) and Derek Kilmer (D-Wash.) yesterday highlighted the need for bipartisanship in Congress and the effort to modernize the operations of the Legislative Branch at a meeting of The Ripon Society and Franklin Center for Global Policy Exchange.

Since first coming to Congress in 2013, both Davis and Kilmer have built reputations on both sides of the aisle as forward-thinking leaders who prioritize cooperation and respect over obstruction and incivility.

“Derek is ranked number 34 on the Lugar Center ranking of bipartisanship, and I am number 40," said Davis. "70 percent of the bills that were passed in the last Congress and signed into law were considered bipartisan. We've got to spread the message of how we as Republicans and Democrats actually like each other. We can debate the issues at hand – that’s what our country was founded upon. But in the end we’ve got to come together with that principled compromise.”

“I have a lot of admiration for his willingness to work across the aisle,” Kilmer said. “Oftentimes, that's a scary proposition given today's politics. It can be a not-particularly-safe place to sit. Being willing to work across the aisle is, I think, something that folks need to be more open to.”

Following their remarks, Davis and Kilmer took questions, including one about the newly-established Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress, which was formed to study and develop recommendations on a broad scope of issues to modernize Congress including the use of technology, staff recruitment, diversity, retention, and rules and procedures to promote a more efficient Congress.

Kilmer is Chairman of the Select Committee and Davis has been named as a member of the Committee.

To watch the full remarks, click here.

Background on The Ripon Society and Franklin Center for Global Policy Exchange

The Ripon Society is a public policy organization that was founded in 1962 and takes its name from the town where the Republican Party was born in 1854 – Ripon, Wisconsin. One of the main goals of The Ripon Society is to promote the ideas and principles that have made America great and contributed to the GOP’s success. These ideas include keeping our nation secure, keeping taxes low and having a federal government that is smaller, smarter and more accountable to the people.

Founded in 1978, The Franklin Center for Global Policy Exchange is a non-partisan, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization committed to enhancing global understanding of important international issues. The Franklin Center brings together Members of the U.S. Congress and their international parliamentary counterparts as well as experts from the Diplomatic corps, foreign officials, senior private sector representatives, scholars, and other public policy experts. Through regular conferences and events where leading international opinion leaders share ideas, the Franklin Center promotes enlightened, balanced, and unbiased international policy discussion on major international issues.

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