Time for Unity

2021 began with so much talk about the imperative of national unity. Then came the events surrounding January 6, impeachment and a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package. This pushed Democrats and Republicans back to their respective corners. The cycle of political division is only worsening.

The time for us to take action is now. That is why ARDA has strengthened our relationship with No Labels. The problems facing our industry and our country as a whole are simply too big to be solved by one party alone.  

With a 50-50 Senate and Democrats holding a bare majority in the House, power is evenly divided between the parties in Congress than it has been in decades. No Labels is working to bring Democrats, Republicans and independents into a governing coalition of elected officials, and the business community solely committed to finding two-party solutions to our nation’s toughest problems like infrastructure, immigration, and national security. 

No Labels launched the creation of the House Problem Solvers Caucus, where members of Congress evenly divided between both parties come together to create a framework to shape and debate policy positions and two-party solutions. 

There is also a focused effort to bring together a bipartisan group of Senators into the fold. Senate partners who are increasingly meeting and working, not only with one another, but also with their colleagues include Democratic Senators Joe Manchin (WV), Kyrsten Sinema (AZ), Jacky Rosen (NV), and Angus King (ME). While Republican Senators include Susan Collins (ME), Bill Cassidy (LA), John Cornyn (TX), Lisa Murkowski (AK) and Todd Young (IN). Given the Senate’s razor thin majority – this small handful of Senators oftentimes have the pivotal votes needed on significant pieces of legislation. 

Recently, No Labels hosted a bicameral meeting bringing together House and Senate members from both parties to come together to talk about issues of common ground. No doubt, this will continue as Congress debates issues form small business, immigration, healthcare, tax and infrastructure.  ARDA has a seat of at that table and looks forward to strengthening our relationships to ensure our collective voice is heard in these critical policy discussions. 

In December 2020, No Labels marked its 10th Anniversary by announcing Maryland Governor Larry Hogan as its National Chair. Governor Hogan was the former head of the nonpartisan National Governors Association and his involvement in No Labels speaks volumes about his belief in bipartisanship and the growing network of business, political and citizen leaders coming together for the overall greater good. We agree the time is now. 

For more information on the LPC and how to get involved in legislative issues, please visit the Advocacy area of our website or reach out to a member of the team.