Bipartisanship

As Washington, D.C. has grown increasingly obsessed with political point-scoring and gamesmanship, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden has consistently shown that there is a better way. From comprehensive health reform legislation that attracted more than a dozen bipartisan cosponsors to the first bipartisan tax reform bill in twenty-five years, to laws that have improved infrastructure financing, expanded wilderness protections, brought greater transparency in our national security programs and even reformed senate procedure, Wyden routinely demonstrates that when they spend less time looking for ways to score political points and more time working towards real solutions, Democrats and Republicans can not only find areas of agreement, they can achieve far more for the count

For YouTube's Town Hall video series, Wyden shared his thoughts on the value of bipartisanship

Putting Words into Action

Wyden doesn’t just talk about bipartisanship, during his tenure in the U.S. Senate, he has been the lead author on more than 150 bipartisan bills, in addition to thousands of other cosponsored bills. And while Congress doesn’t always follow Wyden’s bipartisan lead, his efforts to find consensus has yielded some notable results:

Noteworthy Bipartisan Accomplishments

(Bills, resolutions and initiatives which have become law)

Build America Bonds Actl
  • Bipartisan cosponsors Collins, Thune, Wicker (111th); Coleman, Collins, Dole, Thune (110th)
  • To fund much needed new transportation construction and repair of the nation's aging roads, rail lines and bridges [news release]; Included in the America Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
 Independence at Home Act
  • Bipartisan cosponsors Burr, Chambliss, Collins
  • To create a pilot program to bring primary care medical services to Medicare beneficiaries with multiple chronic conditions in their homes and offer incentives for providing patients with care options that offer greater independence and quality of life while reducing costs. [news release]
Improving Access to Clinical Trials Act
  • Bipartisan cosponsors Brownback, Burr, Coburn, Murkowski, Roberts, Shelby
  • To ensure the small amount of financial compensation patients receive to participate in clinical trials is not counted as extra income. [news release]
A resolution eliminating secret Senate holds
  • Bipartisan cosponsors Grassley, Inhofe, Johanns
  • Resolution to eliminate secret Senate holds. [news release]
Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act
  • Bipartisan cosponsors Allard, Brownback, Bunning, Chambliss, Coburn, Cochran, Craig, DeMint, Dole, Ensign, Graham, Inhofe, Lott, Martinez, McCain, McConnell, Smith, Snowe, Sununu, Warner (110th); Ashcroft, Burns, Faircloth, McCain, Shelby, John Warner (105th)
  • To make the moratorium on Internet access taxes and multiple and discriminatory taxes on electronic commerce permanent. [news release]
Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act
  • Bipartisan cosponsors Murkowski , Smith, Stevens, Wicker (110th); Burns, Cochran, Craig, Crapo, DeWine, Gramm, Kay Bailey Hutchison, Murkowski (106th)
  • To guarantee funds to local schools and communities who once benefitted from federal logging revenues. [news release]
Lewis and Clark Mount Hood Wilderness Act
  • Bipartisan cosponsor Smith (110th, 109th)
  • To designate certain land in the State of Oregon as wilderness. [news release]
Combat Illegal Logging Act
  • Bipartisan cosponsors Alexander, Coleman, Collins, Gregg, Snowe, Sununu
  • To halt the trade of illegal timber and timber products, level the playing field for American business, and protect American jobs and the environment. [news release]
Sunshine in Iraq Reconstruction Contracting Act
  • Bipartisan cosponsor Collins
  • To require public disclosure of noncompetitive contracting for the reconstruction of the infrastructure of Iraq.
Declassification of the CIA Inspector General 9/11 Report
  • Bipartisan cosponsor Bond
  • To promote openness and accountability in national security and the declassification process. [news release]
Section 230 Amendment of the Communications Decency Act
  • Bipartisan cosponsor Rep. Chris Cox
  • To protect for online service providers and users from actions against them based on the content of third parties; Enabled user-generated content sites like YouTube, Facebook and blogs to exist without liability.
Stand by Your Ad
  • Bipartisan cosponsor Collins
  • To enforce accountability in elections, the law requires candidates to be identified and take personal responsibility for any ad they run.

Current Bipartisan Legislation

(Bills introduced in the 112th Congress)

S. 727 Bipartisan Tax Fairness and Simplification Act
  • Bipartisan cosponsor Coats—previously Gregg (111th Congress)
  • To create a simpler and fairer tax, hold down rates for individuals and families, provide tax relief to the middle class and create incentives for businesses to grow and invest in the United States. [news release]
S. 248, Empowering States to Innovate
  • Bipartisan cosponsor Scott Brown (112th, 111th Congress)
  • To give states the flexibility to implement their own health care plans when the bulk of the new law goes into effect in 2014. [news release]
S. 1436 TRIPs
  • Bipartisan cosponsor Hoeven
  • To create a tax credit bond program dedicated to transportation infrastructure. [news release]
S. 1133 ENFORCE Act
  • Bipartisan cosponsors Snowe, Blunt, Portman, Burr
  • To create the discipline necessary at Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to stop these trade cheats and level the playing field for U.S. manufacturers and workers. [news release]
S. 1212 Geolocation Privacy and Surveillance (GPS) Act
  • Bipartisan cosponsors Rep. Chaffetz and Kirk
  • To create a legal framework designed to give government agencies, commercial entities and private citizens clear guidelines for when and how geolocation information can be accessed and used. [news release]
S. 543 Wireless Tax Fairness
  • Bipartisan cosponsors Snowe, McCain, Ensign
  • To prohibit states from imposing any new discriminatory taxes on wireless goods and services for five years. [news release]
S. 971 Digital Goods and Services Tax Fairness Act
  • Bipartisan cosponsors McCain, Snowe, Thune
  • To protect digital goods and services–like mobile smartphone apps and cloud computing—from additional taxes. [news release]
S. 596 Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Deterrence and Victims Support Act
  • Bipartisan cosponsor Cornyn (112th, 111th Congress)
  • To create a pilot program that will create six shelters throughout the country providing a safe haven for minors who are being trafficked and sold into sexual slavery. Also, to give law enforcement the tools to investigate, prosecute, and incarcerate the real criminals—the pimps and traffickers. [news release]
S. 514 Gold Star Fathers
  • Bipartisan cosponsors Collins and Ron Johnson
S. 604 Seniors Mental Health Access Improvement Act
  • Bipartisan cosponsor Barrasso
  • To lift some restrictions on Medicare reimbursement for Health Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists. [news release]
S. 704 OUTDOOR Act
  • Bipartisan cosponsors Crapo, Enzi
  • To reduce tariffs for outdoor apparel thereby helping manufacturers reduce the prices of their products and encouraging young Americans to become more active.
S. 722 Hospice Evaluation and Legitimate Payment Act
  • Bipartisan cosponsors Crapo, Roberts, Moran, Snowe, Blunt
  • To protect and maintain hospice services for Medicare beneficiaries by requiring any changes to hospice Medicare reimbursements be tested for two years in a pilot program to ensure they do not harm hospice centers in a way that would limit access to those who need it most. [news release]
S. 755 Crime Victim Restitution and Court Fee Intercept Act
  • Bipartisan cosponsor Rep. Erik Paulsen
  • To provide financial relief to crime victims and to state courts that are owed money by deadbeat debtors. [news release]
S. 1144 Soda Ash Competition Act
  • Bipartisan cosponsors Barrasso, Cochran, Enzi
  • To extend for another five years a program created in 2006 that provided limited royalty relief to producers of soda ash (known as disodium carbonate). [news release]
S. 1149 Geothermal Production Expansion Act
  • Bipartisan cosponsors Crapo, Risch
  • To make it easier for developers to lease federal land adjacent to proven geothermal “hot spots.” [news release]
S. 1173 Ambulatory Surgery Center Quality and Access Act
  • Bipartisan cosponsor Crapo
  • To require alignment of updates for ambulatory surgical center (ASC) services under a revised prospective payment system (PPS) with updates for hospital outpatient department (OPD) services.
S. 1208 Capital Construction Fund
  • Bipartisan cosponsors Murkowski, Snowe
  • To give commercial fishermen – in Alaska, Oregon and nationwide – added flexibility when it comes to funds they’ve set aside for renovations or new construction of their fishing boats. [news release]
S. 1413 Geothermal Tax Parity Act
  • Bipartisan cosponsors Crapo, Heller
  • To create parity in the tax code for geothermal energy resources.
S. 1551 SMART Act
  • Bipartisan cosponsor Portman
  • To make the Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) Program more efficient and cost effective to taxpayers. [news release]
STORAGE Act
  • Bipartisan cosponsor Collins
  • To jump start the development of energy storage technology to better manage capacity to meet peak energy needs and make it possible for intermittent energy sources like wind and solar power to reach their potential. [news release]

Other Noteworthy Bipartisan Efforts

Renewable Energy Parity and Investment Remedy Act
  • Bipartisan cosponsors Crapo, Lugar, Murkowski, Snowe
  • To level the playing field for burgeoning technologies by extending the full federal production tax credit amount to qualifying renewable energy technologies. [news release]
Healthy Americans Act
  • Bipartisan cosponsors Alexander, Bennett, Crapo, Graham, Gregg, Specter; Alexander, Bennett, Coleman, Corker, Crapo, Grassley, Gregg, Lott, Smith, Specter (110th)
  • To provide affordable, guaranteed private health coverage that will make Americans healthier and can never be taken away. [news release]
Long Term Care Quality and Consumer Information Improvement Act
  • Bipartisan cosponsor Smith
  • To increase government payments from Medicare to those nursing homes which provide the highest levels of care, and also would provide for better sharing of information about treatment options and quality of care in nursing homes among patients, their families and medical professionals.
Conquering Pain Act
  • Bipartisan cosponsor Smith (109th, 108th); Collins, Smith (107th); Mack, Smith (106th)
  • To help Americans living and dying in pain, support their families and assist health care providers in getting information and guidance to treat severe pain. [news release]
Bipartisan Blueprint for Health Reform
  • Bipartisan cosponsors DeMint, Bennett, Lott, Crapo, Thune
  • Letter to the President inviting him to work with them to fix the nation's health care system. [news release]

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