Still Kicking: Bipartisanship is Alive, Effective, and Stewarded by MAP’s Future Caucus

Published in

Millennial Action Project

7 min readJul 6, 2021

In today’s national political environment, it can appear that hostile partisanship is the dominant force in policymaking. There is a prevailing narrative in news media, and among many Americans, that bipartisanship is untenable in our federal politics. However, a bevy of new data on legislative behavior in Congress paints a wholly different and far more optimistic picture.

Despite a lack of publicity, bipartisanship is alive and well. Members of Congress from both parties are reaching across the aisle and demonstrating the power of cross-party cooperation to create a productive legislative environment. During the past several Congresses, the Millennial Action Project’s (MAP) Future Caucus, the country’s only bipartisan caucus for young legislators, played a central role in promoting good-faith collaboration between parties. The group of 38 young representatives is once again taking the lead in the 117th Congress, stewarding bipartisanship and building a new political culture of collaborative problem-solving.

TL;DR

Despite a narrative of political division, bipartisanship remains a potent force in Congress. In fact, Lugar Center data shows that during the 116th Congress, a majority of members in both chambers of Congress are more bipartisan than the historical average.
Bipartisanship is an effective legislative strategy. A Center for Effective Lawmaking study shows that bipartisan collaboration enables legislators to advance their bills more effectively and benefits legislators across the ideological spectrum.
MAP’s Future Caucus in particular, and young legislators in general, are leading a new wave of bipartisan collaboration. During the 116th Congress, three quarters of Future Caucus members were more bipartisan than the historical average, while nearly half of the caucus scored in the top 25% of representatives for bipartisanship.
As champions of bipartisanship in today’s 117th Congress, Future Caucus members are building a new political culture of collaboration and problem-solving.

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Robust Bipartisanship in the 116th Congress

On May 3rd, 2021, the Lugar Center and Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy released its bipartisan index rankings for the 116th Congress, from 2019 to 2020. The study assigns each member of Congress a bipartisan index (BPI) score denoting their level of bipartisanship compared to the historical average over the twenty-year period from the 103rd to the 112th Congresses. The scores measure how often each member’s bills attract cosponsorships from the opposite party and how often they offer cosponsorships across the aisle. The study sets the historical average at 0.00, while positive scores indicate that a member is more bipartisan than the historical average.

The study found that, notwithstanding the general perception of partisanship in Congress, a majority of both chambers were more bipartisan than the historical average. 55% of Representatives and 63% of Senators scored higher than the historical average. According to Lugar Center Policy Director, Dan Diller, “The Bipartisan Index scores show that despite the embittered partisan climate, members still sought out bipartisan partnerships in the run-up to the 2020 election — usually below the radar of the national news cycle.”

Legislative Benefits of Collaboration

Not only does robust cross-party collaboration continue to exist in Congress, it actually contributes to more effective lawmaking. A working paper released by the Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) studying the 93rd to 114th Congresses found that members who exhibited bipartisanship were more productive lawmakers. Specifically, the more bipartisan cosponsors a member was able to attract to their bills, the further those bills advanced through the legislative process.

Importantly, this effect holds for members of both the majority and minority parties. In other words, bipartisanship confers legislative benefits to all members of Congress, regardless of which party is in control.

The CEL’s working paper demonstrates another encouraging phenomenon: members of Congress who offer cosponsorships across party lines are more likely to attract bipartisan cosponsors which, in turn, improves their legislative effectiveness. This effect creates a “virtuous cycle,” whereby bipartisan behavior from a member of Congress generates bipartisan behavior from their colleagues. Young lawmakers and MAP’s Future Caucus members are driving this virtuous cycle.

Young Legislators Embodying Bipartisanship

At a time of generational transition in American politics, young lawmakers are abandoning destructive partisanship and building bridges across ideological lines. By rejecting partisanship in favor of legislative cooperation, the next generation of legislators are laying the foundation for a new form of policymaking.

The Lugar Center’s bipartisanship index rankings, referenced above, indicate that young lawmakers are far more bipartisan than their older counterparts. In the 116th Congress, 64% of U.S. Representatives under age 45 were more bipartisan than the historical average, compared to 55% of all representatives. These young lawmakers had an average BPI score of 0.36, compared to 0.13 for all representatives, with the historical average being 0.00. Members under the age of 45 accounted for 20% of all House members with positive bipartisan index scores, despite holding just 17% of House seats.

Among this group of young legislators, members of the Future Caucus stand out as champions of bipartisanship.

The Future Caucus: Capitalizing on Youth Bipartisanship

Founded in 2013, MAP’s Future Caucus is the only Congressional group for young lawmakers with an explicit focus on bipartisan collaboration. As advocates of political bridge-building, members of the Future Caucus are building a culture of cooperation and civility in Congress. The caucus provides young lawmakers with a forum to build relationships across the aisle and develop innovative policy solutions. Future Caucus members are demonstrating the tenability and effectiveness of cross-party legislation in today’s Congress.

Recent data shows that the Future Caucus was one of the most bipartisan legislative groups during the 116th Congress. With an average Lugar Center BPI score of 0.5, three quarters of Future Caucus members scored more bipartisan than the historical average and nearly half of Future Caucus members scored in the top 25% of all representatives. Among former Future Caucus co-chairs the statistics are even more encouraging. All 8 Future Caucus emeritus leaders scored higher than the bipartisan average, while 7 of the 8 scored higher than 0.5. Leveraging bipartisan cooperation in Congress has enabled Future Caucus members to emerge as some of the most effective legislators in Congress.

The CEL’s Legislative Effectiveness Scores for the 116th Congress further illustrate the bipartisan leadership of Future Caucus members. The scores measure each congressperson’s legislative success based on a combination of fifteen metrics indicating the scope of a member’s policy proposals and how far through the lawmaking process their bills proceed. According to this measurement, Future Caucus emeritus co-chair Rep. Joe Neguse (D-CO-2), as well as Future Caucus members Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY-6), Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA-6), and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY-21) all scored among the top ten most effective lawmakers in their respective parties.

Future Caucus Legislative Wins

During the 116th Congress, Future Caucus members displayed a keen ability to advance bipartisan legislation on future-facing issues. For example, in response to growing concerns about digital privacy, Future Caucus emeritus co-chairs Rep. Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH-16) and Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI-11) successfully passed legislation through the House of Representatives that would direct the National Science Foundation to support research into manipulated or synthesized media (e.g. deepfakes).

The bipartisan success led by Future Caucus members has grown and expanded during the current 117th Congress. The effectiveness of Future Caucus lawmakers has remained steadfast irrespective of changes in party control of Congress or the White House. Future Caucus members are still passing bipartisan legislation that tackles issues impacting young Americans. Future Caucus member Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY-8), working with emeritus co-chair Rep. Joe Neguse (D-CO-2) and fellow Millennial member Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC-1), passed legislation through the House of Representatives that would prohibit the Department of Justice from monitoring the contents of privileged digital communication between an incarcerated person and their attorney.

Bipartisanship Benefits Lawmakers Across the Ideological Spectrum (No, not just the moderates!)

Crucially, Future Caucus members demonstrate that bipartisanship does not need to be limited to members espousing moderate or centrist ideologies. Bipartisanship incurs legislative benefits for lawmakers across the ideological spectrum. The CEL working paper illustrates that cosponsoring bipartisan bills leads to greater legislative success even for members who don’t have a “moderate” ideology or an extensive history of bipartisanship.

According to the CEL’s bipartisanship rankings, “moderates like Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey as well as conservative Republicans like Rep. Andy Barr of Kentucky can be effective at lawmaking, even in a Democratic-controlled House.” Rep. Barr (R-KY-6) ranked as the fourth most effective Republican lawmaker in the 116th Congress. Fellow caucus member Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL-13), the second most conservative in the Illinois delegation, introduced legislation that received over 200 Democratic cosponsors and over 80 Republican cosponsors.

Pioneering a New Politics: Post-partisanship

The groundswell of bipartisan behavior from young legislators, and from MAP’s Future Caucus in particular, are encouraging reminders of the value of cross-party collaboration. Working across the aisle has proven to be a powerful legislative tool for lawmakers of all ideological stripes. As some of the nation’s most effective bipartisan legislators, members of the Future Caucus are aiming higher than traditional compromise. Instead, the caucus is transcending tribalism to build a new political culture of future-oriented problem solving, civility, and collaboration. That is, post-partisanship.