WASHINGTON — Indiana Sen. Todd young is being recognized for his efforts to for bipartisanship among lawmakers in Washington.
In a virtual awards ceremony streamed on YouTube on Thursday, Young received a Legislative Action Award from the Bipartisan Policy Center, which recognizes “productive partisanship” and “willful tenacity” in Congress.
During the event, Young was asked what bipartisanship means to him.
“Soliciting views from a wide range of constituencies and encouraging legislators to do the same,” Young responded. “Making sure that our principal disagreements don’t obscure the many agreements we have on an all range of many different issues.”
He added that the ultimate goal should not be for one political party to push for a “stronger political hand over the other side” but rather looking out for the common good.
Young was also asked what he feels could be improved upon when it comes to the legislative process on Capitol Hill. One area Young says he feels is outdated is the congressional process of conducting hearings.
“I don’t find our public hearing process, though it’s storied and it dates back generations, all that constructive,” he said. “I don’t learn a lot during our hearings.”
He said he feels most lawmakers nowadays use the public hearing process to put together their “five-minute video” in order to look good for their constituents or to look good in front of their colleagues. Young said he would consider a less structured approach to hearings.
“Maybe some round table conversations where there is a lot more give and take, less structured in our conversations,” said Young. “That would lead to more of a comfortable atmosphere in order to mutually explore the truth.”
But, he recognizes that changing any type of format of the legislative process would be challenging since many of those processes have been engrained in Washington for decades.
