January 21, 2021
An Open Letter to Congressional Leadership by 128 Former Members of the U.S. Congress:
We call upon you, in this time of crisis, to put the good of the country above all else. We urge you, as division not seen since the Vietnam War defines our union, to abandon the politics of tribalism. We challenge you, as our representative democracy is under severe stress, to shun those who peddle hyper-partisanship for personal gain.
We have walked in your shoes, and we understand from our own experience on Capitol Hill how easily an us-versus-them mindset can become a Member’s guiding principle. It will take great political courage and leadership to fundamentally alter the current acrimonious mentality, but for the good of the country you need to embrace a better path forward. As Former Members of Congress, our group unites Democrats, Republicans and Independents from both chambers. Even after leaving Congress, we continue to be political and partisan beings, with often very different views of how to solve the many challenges our country faces. But we could never imagine a day when political fervor caused blood to be shed in the People’s House.
The nation needs to hear from you, that you are united in leading the country out of these dark times. We appreciate like no other group the pressures exerted on Members of Congress and Congressional Leadership by outside forces, and we realize the great political courage that we are asking of our elected representatives. Leadership is defined by vision and courage, and you have the ability to lead our country toward a brighter future by abandoning this winning-at-all-costs mentality, which clearly is causing us all to lose.
Yes, you are the leaders of your parties and you are tasked with seeing your party’s platform and values succeed. But much more importantly at this moment in our nation’s history, you are the leaders of the Article One Branch, entrusted with putting in place legislation to make the nation better and the union stronger. That must be your priority during this most perilous time: work together to defeat COVID-19, rebuild our economy, keep the homeland safe, and protect all our democratic institutions, especially every citizen’s sacred right to vote. A new administration brings with it the opportunity to steer the country in a new direction. Over the next four years, we will have vigorous and passionate debates as a country over policy and initiatives, as well we should. But these clashes of ideas must never again become sources of bloodshed. We are imploring our Congressional Leadership, specifically Leaders McConnell and Schumer, and Speaker Pelosi and Leader McCarthy, to lead by example. Be an example to the Democratic and Republican caucuses by promoting those voices that seek solutions rather than divisions.
Be an example to the public by putting country over party. You are the leaders our country looks to in this time of peril, and we implore you to live up to the role history has assigned to you.
Signed,
The Hon. Gary Ackerman (D-NY)
The Hon. Sandy Adams (R-FL)
The Hon. Jason Altmire (D-PA)
The Hon. Les AuCoin (D-OR)
The Hon. Brian Baird (D-WA)
The Hon. Mike Barnes (D-MD)
The Hon. Steve Bartlett (R-TX)
The Hon. Robert E. Bauman (R-MD)
The Hon. Doug Bereuter (R-NE)
The Hon. Michael D. Bishop (R-MI)
The Hon. Mary Bono (R-CA)
The Hon. Charles Boustany (R-LA), FMC President
The Hon. Joseph E. Brennan (D-ME)
The Hon. C. Robin Britt (D-NC)
The Hon. William Brodhead (D-MI)
The Hon. Glen Browder (D-AL)
The Hon. Henry E. Brown, Jr. (R-SC)
The Hon. Ann Marie Buerkle (R-NY), FMC Vice President
The Hon. Bev Byron (D-MD)
The Hon. Mike Capuano (D-MA)
The Hon. Dennis Cardoza (D-CA)
The Hon. Bob Clement (D-TN)
The Hon. Barbara Comstock (R-VA)
The Hon. Paul J. Cook (R-CA)
The Hon. Sam Coppersmith (D-AZ)
The Hon. Jerry F. Costello (D-IL)
The Hon. Kathy Dahlkemper (D-PA)
The Hon. Tom Davis (R-VA)
The Hon. Charlie Dent (R-PA)
The Hon. Peter Deutsch (D-FL)
The Hon. Byron Dorgan (D-ND)
The Hon. Steve Driehaus (D-OH)
The Hon. Glenn English (D-OK)
The Hon. Phil English (R-PA)
The Hon. Ben Erdreich (D-AL)
The Hon. Elizabeth Esty (D-CT)
The Hon. Dave Evans (D-IN)
The Hon. John Faso (R-NY)
The Hon. Vic Fazio (D-CA)
The Hon. Michael Patrick Forbes (D-NY)
The Hon. Martin Frost (D-TX), FMC Immediate Past President
The Hon. Don Fuqua (D-FL)
The Hon. Greg Ganske (R-IA)
The Hon. Jim Gerlach (R-PA)
The Hon. Dan Glickman (D-KS)
The Hon. Charles Gonzalez (D-TX)
The Hon. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA)
The Hon. Gene Green (D-TX)
The Hon. Enid Greene Mickelsen (R-UT)
The Hon. Bill Gunter (D-FL)
The Hon. Chuck Hagel (R-NE)
The Hon. John Hall (D-NY)
The Hon. Katherine Harris (R-FL)
The Hon. Melissa A. Hart (R-PA)
The Hon. Phil Hayes (D-IN)
The Hon. Joel Hefley (R-CO)
The Hon. George Hochbrueckner (D-NY)
The Hon. Joseph Hoeffel (D-PA)
The Hon. George Holding (R-NC)
The Hon. Tim Hutchinson (R-AR)
The Hon. Nancy Johnson (R-CT)
The Hon. Jim Jones (D-OK)
The Hon. Paul Kirk (D-MA)
The Hon. Jim Kolbe (R-AZ)
The Hon. Ernest Konnyu (R-CA)
The Hon. Mike Kopetski (D-OR)
The Hon. Peter H. Kostmayer (D-PA)
The Hon. Ken Kramer (R-CO)
The Hon. Nick Lampson (D-TX)
The Hon. H. Martin Lancaster (D-NC)
The Hon. Leonard Lance (R-NJ)
The Hon. Steve Largent (R-OK)
The Hon. Larry LaRocco (D-ID)
The Hon. John LeBoutillier (R-NY)
The Hon. Elliott H. Levitas (D-GA)
The Hon. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)
The Hon. Bill Lipinski (D-IL)
The Hon. Tom MacArthur (R-NJ)
The Hon. Donald Manzullo (R-IL)
The Hon. Marjorie Margolies (D-PA)
The Hon. Jim McCrery (R-LA)
The Hon. Matt McHugh (D-NY)
The Hon. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R-CA)
The Hon. C. Thomas McMillen (D-MD)
The Hon. Mike McNulty (D-NY)
The Hon. Patrick Meehan (R-PA)
The Hon. Charlie Melancon (D-LA)
The Hon. Luke Messer (R-IN)
The Hon. Dan Mica (D-FL)
The Hon. Paul Mitchell (I-MI)
The Hon. Connie Morella (R-MD)
The Hon. Bruce A. Morrison (D-CT)
The Hon. Glenn Nye (D-VA)
The Hon. Erik Paulsen (R-MN)
The Hon. L.F. Payne, Jr. (D-VA), FMC President-Elect
The Hon. Edward A. Pease (R-IN)
The Hon. Tom Petri (R-WI)
The Hon. Glenn Poshard (D-IL)
The Hon. Deborah Pryce (R-OH)
The Hon. Nick Rahall (D-WV)
The Hon. Reid J. Ribble (R-WI)
The Hon. Tim Roemer (D-IN)
The Hon. Peter Roskam (R-IL)
The Hon. Dennis Ross (R-FL)
The Hon. Mike Ross (D-AR)
The Hon. J. Roy Rowland (D-GA)
The Hon. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA)
The Hon. Ronald Sarasin (R-CT)
The Hon. Patricia Schroeder (D-CO)
The Hon. Bill Shuster (R-PA)
The Hon. David Skaggs (D-CO)
The Hon. Jim Slattery (D-KS)
The Hon. Peter Smith (R-VT)
The Hon. Vince Snowbarger (R-KS)
The Hon. Cliff Stearns (R-FL)
The Hon. Alan Steelman (R-TX)
The Hon. Charlie Stenholm (D-TX)
The Hon. Bart Stupak (D-MI)
The Hon. Tom Tauke (R-IA)
The Hon. Mac Thornberry (R-TX)
The Hon. Karen Thurman (D-FL)
The Hon. Patrick Tiberi (R-OH)
The Hon. Mike Ward (D-KY)
The Hon. Edward F. Weber (R-OH)
The Hon. Jerry Weller (R-IL)
The Hon. Bob Wise (D-WV)
The Hon. Frank R. Wolf (R-VA)
The Hon. Albert Wynn (D-MD)