they focus on their party's opportunities to work with mayors. >> good morning, mayors. our next panel is on the topic of bipartisan opportunities in the 118th congress. it's no secret that political polarization is increasing in our communities and in our congress. studies have shown that democrats and republicans in congress are further apart, ideologically, today than in any time in the last 50 years. at a time of increasing tension, it is more crucial than ever before to find avenues for compromise and collaboration across the aisle. joining me is the united states

representative from new jersey's fifth congressional district, democrat himself, he is the co-chair of the problem solvers caucus in congress. which was founded in 2017 to find common ground between democrats and republicans and advocate for ideas that appeal to a wide range of americans. please welcome representative josh gottheimer. [applause] welcome. we're also pleased to introduce the united states representative who serves new york's 19th congressional district, he's a former five-time mayor, he was the youngest mayor elected in mayor when he was elected before going ton a career as a duchess county executive and new york state legislator. he gets us. republican, a member of the

bipartisan problem solvers caucus, along with representative gottheimer, please welcome congressman mike molinaro. [applause] >> i didn't know he was the youngest. >> not anymore. >> it's great to have you both. a couple of key thing we like to think of ourselves at the u.s. conference of mayors as a bipartisan, pragmatic organization, it's oftentimes said there are three types of folks in america, republicans, democrats, and mayors. there's not a republican or democratic way to pick up trash, plow the streets, create jobs and work with police to protect our neighborhoods. so we're really leaning in here and think this is a great opportunity to partner with the problem solvers caucus to push for bipartisanship. first of all, we want to thank

you publicly for your support of keeping the government open. cities don't shut down and neither should our government. so first of all, we want to publicly thank you for your leadership in helping to get that done. but talk to us a little bit about the problem solvers caucus. how it came to be. and why you think bipartisanship is more important than ever before based on the environment that we're in. mr. gottheimer: thank you for having us. thanks for what you do. and mark as a former mayor guess this as well. for so many of us in congress, we're sick and tired of people screaming and yelling and tweeting nasty things and we came here for one purpose. to get stuff done. the only way to get stuff done, especially in a divided government is to talk to each other, to build relationship,

build trust, like you all do when you come down here and talk to each other, best practice, best ideas. there's 32 democrats now, 32 republicans. we get together every week when we're here with one purpose. which is to actually get to yes, to figure out how we can agree, figure out how to get to 80% solution, not insist on 100%. i the this sounds nuts, we talk to each other, we don't yell at each other, we don't campaign against each other. it's hard to work with somebody if you think they're trying to kill you. so that's the whole idea. some of the biggest stuff that's come out of congress in the last few years is because we sit down and talk to one another and work it out with our fends in the senate too. mr. molinaro: i appreciate being here, i know the work that america's mayors do. i appreciate it. the saying we used to have in the village of kibbelee, you struggled with the italian name

i noticed, the guy from ohio expect figure it out. what we used to say is when the roof leakser it leaks on republicans and democrats. the job of local government is to fix the roof. you go to congress and there's a number of people who talk about why the roof is leak, who made the roof leak, and kick the can down the road about fixing the roof. the problem solvers, in a our point is, in a very divided government, divided nation, to have the conversations and move the needle toward consensus. i would say as a former mayor, i ince, i do, the decisions you make have real impacts on real people instantly. and when you live through that for 12 years, when you are the point of contact for your constituents on just about everything from potholes to criminal justice, and all things in between, you recognize that the decisions you make impact people. when you are so far removed in congress too often you think that your decisions don't.

the minute you lose that connection, you lose the humanity of our decisions and it makes it easy to be partisan. our job is to find consensus. i even argue, it's not about bipartisanship. it's about finding the right answer, to solve the right problem, at the right time. >> tibbol snirvetion i clearly need one more cup of coffee. mr. molinaro: 1,300 people, nobody else heard of it anyway. >> you couldn't go anywhere without hearing from people. we love having mayors in the congress and in the u.s. senate and working in government because they get us and understand us. help us understand and give us advice since you've sat in both seat, how mayors can work more closely to support the problem solvers caucus, whrorn you're from ohio or not, we want to support the work of the caucus

and work more closely together. talk about how your experience as a mayor and member of congress can be leveraged in that way. mr. molinaro: i served in a state legislature, a county mayor, representing $1 million budget. number one, humanize your argument. you can sign as many form letters as you want. i'm sure josh reads every one of them. when you personalize the message, i see my friend from the city of poughkeepsie, if you tell me how my decision affects the north side of poughkeepsie, i want to know it. i want to hear how they're going to be impacted by our choices. second, you have to push back on your party interests. i tell people this all the time. as a republican county executive i was told don't work with that democrat. when that democrat comes to town, done invite them, pat them on the back. you as democrats and republicans have to do the same thing. you have to say, when i have an elected official doing the right

thing for me i'm going to pat him on the back. when he or she, irrespective of party, isn't, i'm going to tell them so. i worked very well with chuck schumer. when chuck schumer comes to town, everybody pats him on the back. i used to whisper too him, chuck, the river front needs this. it's important to humanize that message in a way that keeps them on their toes. if they feel comfortable and confident that they don't have to work for your support, they won't. we're in the same boat. josh is very difficult to work with. i have to work hard for his support. but bipartisanship, nonpartisanship, consensus is hard. you should be making it hard for the folks in your party and welcoming those across the aisle who stand with you when they do. mr. gottheimer: i think that's spot on. i think the other thing, we've got a bunch of mayors from jersey here who are phenomenal. what helps us a lot and when

we're working on doing the infrastructure deal, our work on veterans, our work on environmental issues, the best, i have found some of the best ideas we have worked into legislation have come from mayors actually calling and saying hey, we're doing this here and it's working. you should try this. you should build it into your legislation. or this bill you're about to propose, it sounds great but you don't understand the unintended consequence it's going to have on my city. it's really, really important, you know, mark gets this especially, we hear this as mayors, our job is to work for you. if you have a good idea or see something that count make sense, when you tell us, it speaks volumes. you're also getting feedback all day long from people. the more you call and have a relationship, and there's republican mayors here today from jersey and democratic mayors. i talk to all of them. it's not partisan. there's nothing partisan about picking up the trash, as you

pointed out. nothing partisan about that. you're on the ground with the best ideas. it helps us solve problems, a lot of what's in the infrastructure bill we passed right, the most important infrastructure bill in 100 years, came from i'm telling you, because i helped rate it. it came from mayors in my district. i'm very proud about that. >> got to give a shout out to those new jersey mayors. mr. molinaro: you don't have to. >> i want to thank the mayors, some great, great mayors. so how do we get here in the polarization, the division, probably more important for the conversation, where do we go from here? what role do mayors play in what

looks like a rematch. 50%, regardless of what happens this year, 50% of the country will not accept the results. how do we as mayors help to lead us through this critically important time focused on bipartisanship, integrity, and cooperation, collaboration? mr. gottheimer: thanks for putting that one on me. you all know this pause you're elected officials. it's not nearly as bad here as cnn and fox will have you believe. the reality is, you've got 64 of us who sit down together every week and there's more people like that who actually want to get things done. we pass things all the time that are bipartisan. this year we were very involved in getting this debt ceiling deal done, keeping the government open. we're working right now on the package that has ukraine funding with border security and immigration reform in it. support for israel and taiwan. that's -- we've been very

involved in that mind the scenes working. so it's still -- it still really functions. the noise is loud and gets louder. that's what sells on tv and social media. we get that. one, it's not as bad. two, you have to make sure you -- just what you do, you've got to get stuff done. got to pass your budgets. so do we. which means the two of us and those involved in problem solvers have to keep, no matter what the noise is, no matter what's going on nationally, we have to get our jobs done. i'm not worried about us being able to do what we need to do. we have to focus on that and ignore all the noise. mr. molinaro: i'm a new member, josh has been here longer. mr. gottheimer: i was taller than you. mr. molinaro: that's right. the big dispoint -- disappointmentment i have, that while 85% or more of the members work together well.

i'm on the train structure committee. we are nonpartisan. we want passengers to be safe. we to deal with growing mental health and sub stabs a i abuse crisis and we do it in a bipartisan way. and with all due respect not often do you point to those things. i get it. the model doesn't support what we do. it's a business model that perpetuates itself. where and how do we break through it? i think time will allow, i think we're getting to the point where the country recognize this is just isn't working. this constant 50-50 battle, although we have to get through probably that over the course of the next eight months. time will provide that opportunity. i would just say keep doing the work you're doing. i don't want to be corny about it. listen. most people trust their local government. if you look, i think it was pew institute did a poll some years ago basically said the closer you are the more trust there is.

don't break that trust. i mean it. you are our best ambassadors. meaning you are government's best ambassadors. you are the ones who get the work done. you are the ones who fill the potholes. when moms or dads are crying because their kid is stuck in a crappy criminal justice system or they can't find their way to a social security check or they're looking for their passport, they may call us but they're likely to start with you. mr. gottheimer: they always start with you. mr. molinaro: they -- you need to be the conduit, the extension. you give us a good face too. they see government functioning. then i'll end by going back to where i started and say, don't miss the opportunities, despite the whisper in your ear from your party, despite the whisper in your ear from councilmember os whoever, to say don't partner with them. there'll be moments where reefing aacross the aisle makes sense. don't miss that moment. common ground is elusive but we can find it.

mr. gottheimer: that's important. don't be afraid to pick up the phone and call us, and to say, for people who say it's just a mess there. actually, you know, i work with them all the time. there's plenty of stuff we're getting done working together. i think people need, you're asking what do we need to repair things? pem need to have faith. we live in the greatest country in the world. people need to know the system works, and it does work. think about what we didding to, the problem solvers caucus and beyond in the last two years, not just infrastructure. big support for veterans. support for cops. and first responders. building chips in the united states. instead of our number one enemy and adversary in the government of china. all this stuff we did working together. and we got to tell more of the good news because if we're negative, the people we represent are going to be negative. we've got to remind them, got to put the country first. i think if we do that, it'll start to lift everyone back up that way. [applause]

>> mayor, congressman, i'm going to give you the last word. give these mayors, some inspiration. as we head into these try, trying times. where is the problem solvers caucus in america's mayors in january of 2025? mr. molinaro: you are america's problem solvers caucus. please understand that. i just would say to you, i do believe this nonpartisan consensus oriented effort, call it problem solvers because that what we associate as, call it whatever you want, there's a place in america for that. it's where most people live. it's where the work gets done. it's where the problems get solved. it's where the challenges get overcome. do not shrink from your responsibility to be america's problem solvers. i will offer to you that when you said mayor, executive -- when i die the only title i want

on whatever little plaque my kids leave for me is mayor. once a mayor, always a mayor. we understand the challenges. >> it'll be a small plaque. i deal with county executives and town supervisors all the time. i tell them i love all my children equally i just happen to love mayors more. >> please thank these incredible members of congress. >> thank you guys for all you do. [applause]players, the agency ig

whether -- [inaudible]