Two SC Congressmen Join Bi-Partisan No Labels Coalition

Depending on the poll, the approval rating of Congress is either 9 or 12 percent. The reason for lawmakers' unpopularity is pretty simple--voters believe that they are more interested in stonewalling and scoring political points than solving the nation's problems.

Lately, the Senate has shown it might be getting the message. A bi-partisan immigration reform bill passed and several of President Obama's agency nominees were approved without a filibuster (there had been more than 400 under the leadership of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell).

The House is another matter. It appears as gridlocked as ever. But a pair of South Carolina's congressmen are attempting to change that. Mick Mulvaney (R-5) and Tom Rice (R-7) have joined with more than 70 of their colleagues in the No Labels Congressional Problem Solvers Coalition, a bi-partisan group meant to pass common-sense legislation aimed at making government more efficient, effective and less wasteful. To that end, the group has proposed a set of nine bills called the Make Government Work! package.

In a statement released to Patch, Rice said, "My constituents sent me to Washington to strengthen our country and grow our economy. In order to accomplish these goals, I believe we must put the country first and work together.”

“I joined the Problem Solvers team because I am committed to working with my colleagues to solve our nation’s greatest problems.  We must work together in a bipartisan fashion to address our country’s critical needs, preserve the American Dream, and ensure that our grandchildren and their children have a prosperous future.”

Sen. Mark Begich (D-AK), Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL), Sen. Angus King (I-ME), Sen.Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV), Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV)

House

Rep. Tim Griffin (R-AR), Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D-AZ), Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Rep. Ami Bera (D-CA), Rep. Julia Brownley (D-CA), Rep. Tony Cárdenas (D-CA), Rep. Paul Cook (R-CA), Rep. Jim Costa (D-CA), Rep. Janice Hahn (D-CA), Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA), Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-CA), Rep. Scott Peters (D-CA), Rep. Raúl Ruiz (D-CA), Rep. David Valadao (R-CA), Rep. Mike Coffman (R-CO), Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO), Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT), Rep. Joe Garcia (D-FL), Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-FL), Rep. Tom Rooney (R-FL), Rep. John Barrow (D-GA), Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-GA), Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA), Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), Rep. Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-IL), Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL), Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-IL), Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL), Rep. Todd Young (R-IN), Rep. Dave Loebsack (D-IA), Rep. Lynn Jenkins (R-KS), Rep. Rodney Alexander (R-LA), Rep. Mike Michaud (D-ME), Rep. John Delaney(D-MD), Rep. Kerry Bentivolio (R-MI), Rep. Rick Nolan (D-MN), Rep. Chris Gibson (R-NY), Rep. Michael Grimm (R-NY), Rep. Richard Hanna (R-NY), Rep. Dan Maffei (D-NY), Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY), Rep. Bill Owens (D-NY), Rep. Tom Reed (R-NY), Rep. Ann McLane Kuster (D-NH), Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-NC), Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC), Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH), Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-OR), Rep. Charlie Dent(R-PA), Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-PA), Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Rep. Pat Meehan (R-PA), Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA), Rep. GT Thompson (R-PA), Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI), Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN), Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R-TN), Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX), Rep. Jim Matheson (D-UT), Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT), Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA), Rep. Scott Rigell (R-VA), Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA), Rep. David McKinley (R-WV), Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI), Rep. Tom Petri (R-WI), Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI), Rep. Reid Ribble (R-WI)