At the writing of this week’s Wednesday Wonk, we find ourselves in a precarious position. Russian President Putin has invaded the sovereign nation of Ukraine. Even as we cheer for those brave souls in Ukraine, all of us feel betrayed and vulnerable.

Most of the news is about Ukraine and the unthinkable reality that this may lead to a broader conflict. Amid all that’s happening, the Wonk considered not writing a column today. Nevertheless, I was able to find a few items of interest to my readers.

At the end of this week’s missive–I will share an idea put forth by The Former Members of Congress Association to increase bipartisan efforts. Here goes:

• As expected, Rollcall.com reports that President Biden will use the State of the Union to restart some of his policy proposals that have faltered in recent months. Specifically, Rollcall quotes a senior White House official stating that the President “will lay out specific practical measures that would reduce costs for families right now, including prescription drug costs and health care premiums, child care costs and energy costs,” the official added. “He will also point to the other ideas he has proposed on areas ranging from housing to care for seniors and people with disabilities to higher education affordability to direct tax relief for families.”
• Likewise, The Hill reports in a short column titled “Five Things to Watch in Biden’s State of the Union Speech. The article states, “Biden is expected to call on Congress to act on elements of Build Back Better, such as healthcare, childcare, and energy provisions, though it’s unclear whether Biden will actually say the name of the legislative proposal. ….It’s not about the name of the bill. It’s about the ideas, it’s about lowering costs for families, and I think you can expect to hear the president talk about those ideas,” a senior administration official told reporters Monday.
• Politico reports, “He’s going to be talking about what we are doing now and what we intend to do in the future,” said Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, chair of the chamber’s Democratic campaign arm. “That’s what people want to hear and what they want to know, and an acknowledgement of what they’ve gone through. Everybody’s fed up with the pandemic … people want to move on. There are some positive signs we’re moving on, but we have to get through it all.”
• Finally, Wonk readers will remember that last week’s Wonk pleaded for empathy as a way forward. The Hill published an article highlighting the political impasse Congress is in; the article states,” A report by the Former Members of Congress Association describes the situation: “Congress has largely become a dysfunctional institution unable to meet the critical needs of our country.” The article goes on to pose this question, “What if Congress created a program that paired one member of a party with someone from the other party, and required and paid for those members to attend and fully participate in in-person town halls in the other district/state? The matches could be made with guidelines, i.e., the number of times per year, rural members with urban, geographic distance, chairman with [another] chairman, and leaders with leaders. This would give members a real chance to “walk a mile in the other’s shoes” and force them to spend time together and learn about the world outside their own politically reinforced and curated views.

To sum up, the State of the Union is critical this year. We need to keep talking to one another. Most of all, we need to remember the people in Ukraine–and realise we’re all part of a global community.

That’s it for this week. Pray for peace.

Happy Reading!