The Wonk planned to update you—dear reader—on progress being made on efforts to pass portions of the so-called Build Back Better bill. I looked high and low. Alas, I could not find any such progress. Yet, this article I found in Vox offers some hope that Congress is learning to work together in a bipartisan manner. Let me offer some highlights:

• First, Congress finally realized that with the 50/50 split in the Senate coupled with a reluctance to get rid of the filibuster, Democrats must reach across the aisle if they hope to get something done.
• There’s bipartisan support for banning members of Congress from trading stock while they are in office. Vox reports that “while there’s widespread consensus that something has to be done, legislators aren’t yet in agreement about key aspects of an eventual bill, including who the ban should cover and how severe repercussions should be.”
• Likewise, the House and Senate have passed the America COMPETES act, a bill which would improve the production of semiconductors in the US and help our county compete with other nations. This legislation has passed both the House and Senate and is headed to a conference committee sometime soon.
• Also, the Senate recently passed the “Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act. This bill “effectively prevents employers, universities, and other institutions from immunizing themselves from lawsuits alleging sexual harassment or assault.” This legislation is passed in both houses of Congress and is headed to the President’s desk.
• Vox further reports that there’s some bipartisan support for the Electoral Count Act. This bill would clarify “the vice president’s role in the counting of electoral votes, raising the threshold needed for lawmakers to contest a state’s election results, and strengthening protections for poll workers.” This is a work in progress.
• It’s worth noting that Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) reportedly told NBC News, “People realize we’re not going to get rid of the filibuster. If you want to get something done, you’ve got to work together,”

Does the Wonk think that bipartisanship is the wave of the future? Maybe.

The Wonk sees at least two problems that may prevent this.

First, working in a bipartisan manner requires that you compromise, and compromise takes work.

Second, our country finds itself driven not by bipartisanship but rather hyper-partisanship, where citizens are told that the opposite party is completely wrong.

So, where does this end? The Wonk believes that it starts and ends with us–the American electorate. We all must encourage our lawmakers to work together in a bipartisan fashion.

This is a tall order. It means that you and I must take a deep breath and look for the good in both political parties. It requires that we stay informed on the issues–which is a full-time job. It just may be that you and I–working together–can encourage the bipartisanship we so desperately need.

That’s it for the Wonk this week. Please write and tell me what you’re thinking.

Until next time,
Happy Reading!