WASHINGTON — The nonpartisan Lugar Center released its annual rankings of the most independent members of the House of Representatives.
In the first year of the 117th Congress, U.S. Rep. Ron Kind (D-La Crosse) ranked 18th in bipartisanship out of all 435 members and first among Wisconsin House members.
“I’m proud to be consistently named one of the most independent Members of Congress,” said Kind. “Wisconsinites are fed up with gridlock and division in our government and I couldn’t agree more. Working in a bipartisan manner is essential to moving our nation forward and tackling the issues facing all Americans, and I’ll keep seeking out common ground.”
Wisconsin’s most bipartisan Republican was Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Green Bay), who ranked 81st. Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Milwaukee) ranked 217th, Rep. Bryan Steil (R-Burlington) ranked 229th, Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-West Bend) ranked 245th, Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Black Earth) ranked 306th, Rep. Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) ranked 387th, and Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-Wausau) ranked 424th of the 435 members of the House.
The 30 least bi-partisan members were all Republicans, with Illinois’ Mary Miller last at 435 ahead of Georgia’s Marjorie Taylor Green, Colorado’s Lauren Boebert and Arizona’s Andy Biggs. The 30 most bipartisan were split evenly between Republican and Democrats. Pennsylvania Republican Brian Fitzpatrick had the highest score, followed by New Jersey Democrat Josh Gottheimer. Speaker Nancey Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) were excluded.
In the U.S. Senate, Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin) ranked 39th and Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin) ranked 94th. New Hampshire Democrat Maggie Hassan had the highest score, with Maine Republican Susan Collins second. The bottom 11 spots were all head by Republicans, with Alabama’s Richard Shelby and Tommy Tuberville holding down the bottom two spots. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) were excluded.
“The Bipartisan Index is intended to fill a hole in the information available to the public about the performance of Members of Congress,” said former U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Indiana). “There are innumerable studies, rankings, and indexes that grade members according to a partisan, parochial, or special-interest standard. We sought to develop an objective measure of how well members of opposite parties work with one another using bill sponsorship and co-sponsorship data. … The Bipartisan Index measures the frequency with which a Member co-sponsors a bill introduced by the opposite party and the frequency with which a Member’s own bills attract co-sponsors from the opposite party.”
Kind has been named one of the Lugar Center’s top 25 most independent members of the House of Representatives each year since 2013.
“I would emphasize that we do not believe that it is wrong for members to have partisan bills in their portfolio of co-sponsorships,” said Lugar. “Every member of Congress has such bills. Nor do we believe that all bipartisan bills are wisely written and considered. However, a consistently low score on this index will be a very strong indication that a legislator is viewing his or her duties through a partisan lens. Conversely, a consistently high score is a strong indication that a legislator is prioritizing problem solving and open to working with the other party when possible.
“What we are measuring in this Index is not so much the quality of legislation but rather the efforts of legislators to broaden the appeal of their sponsored legislation, to entertain a wider range of ideas, and to prioritize governance over posturing.
“The Founders of our Republic were realists who understood the power of factionalism, parochialism, and personal ambition. They understood that good intentions would not always prevail. Accordingly, they designed a system to check abuse and prevent power from accumulating in a few hands. But they knew that the efficient operation of such a Republic would require a great deal of cooperation. They knew that it would require most elected officials to have a dedication to governance, and they trusted that leaders would arise in every era to make their vision work.
“In this spirit, we encourage members of Congress to more frequently open themselves to the possibility that colleagues from the opposite party may have good ideas that are deserving of consideration.”
The Lugar Center is a platform for an informed debate on global issues including issues that framed much of Lugar’s career — nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction, global food security, foreign assistance effectiveness and global development, energy security, and enhancing bipartisan governance. The center brings together expert sources and sponsors research to improve the quality of debate and bridge ideological divides around these issues.
The full list of House rankings for the 117th Congress First Session is at https://www.thelugarcenter.org/ourwork-Bipartisan-
Index.html.