Today, the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University and the Lugar Center released their 2019 Bipartisan Index rankings of members of Congress (the first year of the 116th Congress). Freshman Rep. Dean Phillips (MN-03) earned high marks for his first year, ranking in the top 7% for his bipartisan work in the House.

“In these divided times, good ideas must generate support from the center to stand any chance of becoming law," said Phillips. “The corrupting influence of special interests has broken our politics, but I’m on a mission to inspire a new era of collaboration in Congress and restore Americans' faith in our government. Trust is earned by action - not words - which is why I’m committed to working with colleagues of all ideologies to generate ideas, build bridges, and produce results.”

The Bipartisan Index measures how often a member of Congress introduces bills that succeed in attracting co-sponsors from members of the other party, and how often they in turn co-sponsor a bill introduced from across the aisle. The Index excludes non-binding resolutions and ceremonial bills, seeking to encourage lawmakers to be more bipartisan when writing or co-sponsoring meaningful policy. The metrics give Phillips high marks for top-tier bipartisan legislating:

• Phillips is the 27^th most-bipartisan out of 437 members ranked in the House of Representatives, placing him in the top 7% among Congress’s most effective bipartisan lawmakers
• Phillips is the 2^nd most-bipartisan Minnesota member, second only to Rep. Collin Peterson in the House
• Phillips is the 5^th most-bipartisan out of all 101 freshmen in the House
• GovTrack data, which is used to compile the Lugar Center Bipartisan Index, also indicates that, at one out of every three bills, Rep. Phillips is the 5^th most-likely Democrat of the House to co-sponsor legislation that was introduced by a Republican

Through his work on the Problem Solvers Caucus and as an individual lawmaker, Phillips continues to partner with Republican members to get Minnesota, and the nation, through the coronavirus pandemic as healthy, economically-sound, and prepared for the future as possible. In the past week alone, Phillips has introduced legislation alongside Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX).

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