In his 1796 farewell address, George Washington warned that rigid factions could one day paralyze the young American republic. That paralysis is no longer a distant fear—it is our lived reality. On issue after issue, Congress has become less a problem-solving institution and more a stage for stalemate.
Yet the American people themselves are not gridlocked. Polling across the political spectrum shows the same message: voters want bipartisan cooperation, practical solutions, and a Congress that can address the long-term challenges facing the nation. They are not demanding ideological purity—they are demanding competence.
And still, on the issues that matter most—comprehensive immigration reform, Social Security and Medicare sustainability, fiscal responsibility, health-care affordability, election integrity, and sensible gun safety—Congress has failed to act. Not for a year or two. For decades. The problem isn’t that these challenges are unsolvable; it’s that the institution charged with solving them has been structurally unable to do its job.
The modern 60-vote Senate filibuster effectively imposes a supermajority requirement on almost all major legislation. A determined minority—sometimes representing far fewer Americans than the majority—can block action even when broad consensus exists in both chambers and among the public. Both parties have criticized it. Both have hesitated to fix it, fearing that procedural reform could one day be used against them. Congress has carved out exceptions before—budget reconciliation, trade promotion authority, and fast-track regulatory reviews. The republic survived. In fact, it functioned better. These procedures did not dictate policy outcomes; they simply guaranteed that Congress could make decisions. Today, we face a similar choice: whether Congress will finally create a limited, transparent, bipartisan pathway to act on the nation’s most chronically unresolved issues while preserving the filibuster for nearly everything else.
The Bipartisan Priority Reform Commission Act (BPRCA) provides such a pathway. This legislation establishes a structured, bipartisan process for identifying and resolving long-standing Priority Issues through independent commissions, transparent hearings, and fast-track legislative consideration. Its purpose is simple: restore Congress’s ability to govern on matters where decades of gridlock have allowed problems to worsen.
The Bipartisan Priority Reform Commission Act is designed to restore Congress’s ability to act on nationally significant, long-stalled issues while preserving procedural norms. It provides a disciplined, bipartisan framework that ensures proposals reach a vote, encourages broad consensus, and maintains public trust.
Businesses and households gain clarity on workforce, retirement, health-care, and regulatory planning.
Transparent procedures and bipartisan oversight reinforce public confidence in governance.
Procedural norms like the filibuster are preserved for ordinary legislation while ensuring action on critical priorities.
Commissions incentivize cooperation, ensuring proposals reflect broad consensus rather than partisan extremes.
This design addresses long-term national challenges: Social Security faces a looming funding shortfall, Medicare and Medicaid costs continue to grow, federal deficits and debt threaten economic stability, immigration policy remains a patchwork, health-care costs outpace wages, election systems are strained, and gun safety remains trapped in cycles of outrage and inaction.
Independent voters—the largest voting bloc—expect Congress to solve entrenched problems. Moderate Democrats can demonstrate credibility by engaging constructively; moderate Republicans are essential partners in ensuring bipartisan success. The BPRCA incentivizes both: by structuring the process around expert input, transparency, and bipartisan approval, it minimizes political risk while maximizing public trust.
This is not a partisan plan. It is a constitutional plan. Limited, transparent, and enforceably bipartisan, it allows Congress to address Priority Issues before they become full-blown crises, preserving institutional norms while ensuring accountability.
Washington warned not just about faction, but about institutional trust—and what happens when that trust collapses. Rebuilding trust requires structural reform, not procedural gamesmanship. The Bipartisan Priority Reform Commission Act provides a disciplined framework for Congress to do what the Constitution expects: debate, deliberate, and vote on the nation’s most pressing challenges.
America deserves a Congress that works. It is time—past time—to make Congress work again. Through bipartisan commissions, expert-driven recommendations, fasttrack legislative procedures, and robust oversight, the BPRCA finally gives Congress the ability to tackle the toughest issues in a practical, accountable, and democratic way.
Pledge Statement: I hereby pledge to support candidates who commit to binding bipartisan cooperation as advocated by Fulfilling America’s Promise. I encourage candidates, incumbents, and party leaders to jointly publish the proposed op-ed before Labor Day 2026.
At the start of each two-year Congress, lawmakers select issues from a defined list: immigration, Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid, fiscal responsibility (including deficit and debt management), health-care reform, federal election reform, and sensible gun regulation. If Congress fails to agree within 60 days, the next issue in the queue is automatically designated. Gridlock cannot block action.
Each issue is assigned to a 12-member Commission—eight independent experts, balanced by party, and four legislators, one Democrat and one Republican from each chamber. Appointments are time-limited, with fallback authority granted to an independent Oversight Board to prevent delays. Proposals require at least seven votes, including bipartisan legislative support.
Commissions hold hearings, solicit public comment, and release draft legislative language. Minority views are documented and published, ensuring all perspectives are visible.
Commissions must produce a final report and implementing bill within ten months. Bills then receive expedited floor procedures: 20 hours of debate, no unrelated amendments, no motion to recommit, and no Senate filibuster. Rejected amendments require a written explanation.
The Board ensures compliance, convenes hearings if necessary, administers Amendment Windows, and transmits bills if procedural failures occur. Its role is purely procedural, preserving policy neutrality while guaranteeing action.
