By DAN LIPINSKI  

 

Something unusual happened the other day in Washington.

 

While it is common to see members of Congress gather outside the Capitol to speak in front of TV cameras, they are usually partisan groups on the attack against the other party. But on this day more than 70 members of Congress — split evenly between Democrats and Republicans — came together on a sweltering summer morning in front of a cheering crowd to talk about working together in the true spirit of bipartisanship in order to break through the gridlock and get things done on behalf of the American people.

 

The event was the No Labels Problem Solvers coalition’s unveiling of the Make Government Work! legislative reform package that would save taxpayers billions of dollars each year, eliminate waste in government and serve as a template on how to accomplish goals important to all Americans by building trust and cooperation across party lines.

 

More on Make Government Work! a little later.

 

No Labels is a growing movement that includes members from across the ideological spectrum who are dedicated to promoting a new politics of problem solving. In January, I was named one of No Labels inaugural 24 Problem Solvers in Congress. Since then, the coalition has more than tripled in size to 81 members who meet regularly to encourage cooperation and work on solutions to the problems facing the country.

 

I view No Labels and the Problem Solvers as an important extension of my commitment to you since I became your congressman.

 

I am one of less than a dozen engineers in Congress. Engineering is problem solving. So I came to Congress more than eight years ago determined to solve problems. But as our nation’s problems have gotten bigger, Congress has gotten smaller. Not smaller in size. Certainly not smaller in ego. But smaller in the capacity to get things done.

 

The American people see this and their confidence in Congress continues to drop. Approval of Congress recently fell to 10 percent, the lowest ever recorded by Gallup polling. 

 

What Americans want to see is Washington working together to help with job creation, reducing our debt and solving the problems we all face. Instead, they see bickering.

 

We all grew up in communities where everyone knows that when we are sent to do a job, there is a bottom line: Get the job done. It’s time for Washington to understand this and to act for the American people.

 

That means we must work together.

 

That’s where the No Labels Problem Solvers coalition can help.

 

Among the nine bills in Make Government Work! are the No Budget, No Pay Act, which would withhold the paychecks of members of Congress if they cannot pass a budget on time, and the 21st Century Healthcare for Heroes Act to eliminate waste by merging the separate electronic health records at the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs. For more information on the other pieces of legislation in Make Government Work!, visit http://www.nolabels.org/make-government-work.

 

There might be other issues in Congress grabbing big headlines, but if we cannot start finding common ground in Washington, we will accomplish nothing.

 

The public wants members of Congress to come together and solve problems for the good of our nation. The effort that went into Make Government Work! is a critical first step.

 

That’s what No Labels is all about. 

 

We might be Democrats and Republicans, conservatives and liberals, but we understand that most importantly we are all Americans. And if we fail, we are failing you, our constituents, the people who sent us here.

 

I know the American people are counting on us. By coming together with my other No Labels Problem Solvers, I want to help ensure that America’s best and brightest days are still ahead of us.