No Labels

Floor Speech

Mr. CICILLINE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Wisconsin, my friend, for yielding, and want to really echo the comments of my friend from Georgia, Mr. Barrow.

I first came to Washington to serve in the House a little more than 2 years ago after spending 8 years as mayor of the city of Province. When you're a mayor of a city or town, you are a problem solver. You have lots of issues that come before you, lots of decisions to make, but most importantly, you have to get things done. You don't have a Republican pothole or a Democratic tree that needs to be cut. You just have things that need to be done and action that needs to be taken.

The men and women and families of Rhode Island's First Congressional District didn't send me to Congress to score political points or engage in political games. They sent me here to get things done, to confront the challenges facing our country and my State.

I'm very proud to be a founding member of the Problem Solvers of No Labels, a coalition that's offering a venue for Republicans and Democrats to come together, to work together, to find solutions to, most importantly, govern our Nation.

And really importantly, as my friend from Wisconsin said, we have people in No Labels who come from a whole range of different ideologies, who feel very passionately about issues that are important to them and to their constituents and make the case in very, very spiriteat's what No Labels is committed to, that's what we're committed to on both sides of the aisle as part of Problem Solvers, and I urge all my colleagues to join us in this effort.d discussions. But we come to it with a willingness to listen to each other, to consider each other's views, to engage in civil discourse and, most importantly, come to it with a commitment to try to solve problems, to work together to grow our economy, responsibly cut the deficit, protect critical programs like Social Security and Medicare.

There's no question that in the last few years Washington has stopped working the way it should. Republicans and Democrats have grown more concerned with 30-second ads than serving our constituents. Washington has failed to do its job.

There are real problems facing our country. We need to start working together again in the spirit of bipartisanship that has defined our Nation over the years through global conflict, economic depression, and even fierce internal political debates.

We have always come together to get things done and to act in the best interest of our country. I know that's what No Labels is committed to, that's what we're committed to on both sides of the aisle as part of Problem Solvers, and I urge all my colleagues to join us in this effort.

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