Omaha, Neb. – Today, the Lugar Center and the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University jointly released their new Bipartisan Index rankings of members of Congress for 2019; the first year of the 116th Congress. This non-partisan tool measures the degree to which Senators and Representatives work across party lines on legislation, and Congressman Don Bacon (R-NE-02) was ranked 31 out of 437. The Speaker of the House and Minority Leader are excluded from the rankings.

“We live in a “center-right” district that does not embrace hyper-partisanship and wants people working together,” said Rep. Bacon. “Lugar is the best-known index on rating bipartisanship in Congress and rates me in the top seven percent. I’m proud to seek consensus across the aisle, while not compromising on my principles and the promises I have made to the citizens of the second district.” 

Data from all Congresses since 1993 are incorporated in the Bipartisan Index, and it looks at when a member of Congress introduces bills that succeed in attracting co-sponsors from members of the other party. It also looks at how often they in turn co-sponsor a bill introduced from across the aisle.  The Index does exclude non-binding resolutions and ceremonial bills and is based on a formula applied uniformly to all members. It does not make any subjective statements or judgements about individual members or bills. 

Final bipartisan index scores for the entire Congress will be released when the 116^th Congress comes to a close at the end of 2020. 

About the Lugar Center:

Founded by former U.S. Senator Richard Lugar, the non-profit Lugar Center is a platform for informed debate and analysis of global issues, including nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction, global food security, foreign assistance effectiveness and global development, energy security, and enhancing bipartisan governance. http://www.thelugarcenter.org   

About the McCourt School of Public Policy:

The McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University is a top-ranked public policy school located in the center of the policy world in Washington, D.C. Their mission is to teach students to design, analyze, and implement smart policies and put them into practice in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors, in the U.S. and around the world. https://mccourt.georgetown.edu/ 

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