National rankings list Elissa Slotkin as ‘most bipartisan’ Michigander in Congress

US Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Michigan) is being recognized for her ability to reach across the aisle and work alongside Republican lawmakers to craft meaningful legislation.

MICHIGAN—For a third consecutive year, US Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Michigan) has been named among the most bipartisan members of Congress by the Lugar Center, which ranks lawmakers annually based on their ability to work collaboratively with opposing political parties.

This year’s scorecard found Slotkin to be the “most bipartisan” member of Congress from Michigan, as well as the 14th most bipartisan member of the US House of Representatives.

“The last year has seen far too much partisanship—but it has also demonstrated that when members of Congress do our jobs, reach across the aisle, and negotiate in good faith, we can accomplish important things,” Slotkin said in a statement in response to the new rankings.

Slotkin also pointed to several bipartisan bills that she has sponsored since she took office—including legislation that was focused on border security and national security. 

Among them:

• The Protecting Against Foreign Adversary Investments Act, which was co-sponsored by US Rep. Blake Moore (R-Utah), would allow the government to more closely scrutinize significant real estate transactions by entities with ties to America’s potential adversaries.
• Slotkin also worked alongside Republican lawmakers from Iowa to craft the FARMLAND Act, which would add new federal scrutiny to farmland purchases by foreign adversaries.
• Another bill co-led by Slotkin and Iowa Republicans Rep. Randy Feenstra and Sen. Chuck Grassley—the Livestock Consolidation Research Act—would direct the US Department of Agriculture to research how consolidation impacts the livestock industry.
• Slotkin also worked with Republicans to craft the INTEL at Our Borders Act, which aimed to help secure the border with new technology and replace outdated security systems.
• Another bill co-sponsored by Slotkin and Republican lawmakers, the STOP Enemies Act, would help prevent adversaries from obtaining critical national defense information, namely by expanding the definition of “aiding the enemy” in federal military codes. 

According to the Lugar Center, ​​the annual index is intended to “fill a hole in the information available to the public about the performance of Members of Congress” by developing an “objective measure of how well members of opposite parties work with one another.”

Analysts gravitated toward bill sponsorships and co-sponsorships rather than individual voting decisions to assemble the rankings—namely because voting decisions are often contextual and can be influenced by parliamentary circumstances, while co-sponsorships are “very carefully considered declarations of where a legislator stands on an issue,” according to the report.

“What we are measuring in this Index is not so much the quality of legislation but rather the efforts of legislators to broaden the appeal of their sponsored legislation, to entertain a wider range of ideas, and to prioritize governance over posturing,” researchers wrote in the foreword.

In a statement, Slotkin said she was “proud” to crack the Top 15 in the rankings for a third consecutive year, and vowed to continue reaching across the aisle to “deliver for constituents.”

“Working with members of both parties to get things done for Michigan, even when it’s hard, is the very least we can do for the people of our state and the country,” Slotkin said in a statement.

READ MORE: Elissa Slotkin promises to defend ACA, Social Security, and Medicare

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