Collins on No Labels: ‘Washington is too often hyper-partisan’

Republican Sen. Susan Collins (Maine) on Thursday explained her push for bipartisanship in the Senate alongside Democratic Sen. Joe Minchin (W.Va.) through the No Labels Group, saying Washington has become too partisan.

“I am convinced that most Americans want us to work together, and yet the debate in Washington is too often hyper-partisan, and driven by the ideological groups on the far left and the far right, rather than the sensible center,” Collins said on CNN’s “New Day.” 

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“Our hope is that with the support of members of No Labels all across our country, that we can start a process of bringing people together in Washington to listen respectfully to one another, and forge bipartisan solutions,” she said. 

“When legislation is passed with input from both parties, we get far better products in the end,” she continued. 

Collins’s comments come after she and Manchin, who are both seen as moderates in their respective parties, announced they would co-chair the bipartisan group. 

“I have worked across the aisle since the day I arrived in the Senate, and that approach has never been more important than it is now,” Manchin said in the No Labels statement. 

“When we understand each other, we can work together. And when we work together, we can help people,” he continued.

The group is expected to frequently work with the House Problem Solvers Caucus, which is a group made up of 47 lawmakers from both sides of the aisle, focusing on bipartisan solutions on major legislative matters in Congress.

Both chambers of Congress have currently split on party lines on an array of issues, including tax reform and health-care reform.