WASHINGTON D.C. — With deep divisions still evident in America, President Joe Biden made a call for unity in his first speech Wednesday: “We must end this uncivil war, that pits red against blue.”
“We're in a period of transition, and I think it's important that we make sure that the pledges of unity that President Biden spoke to in his inaugural address--that those are followed through,” Rep. Peter Meijer, R-Grand Rapids said.
Congressman Meijer made waves earlier this month, when he crossed party lines and became one of 10 Republicans to vote to impeach former President Donald Trump.
When it comes to policy, the freshman from Grand Rapids wants to continue reaching across the aisle.
“I'm proud to say I'll be joining the Problem Solvers Caucus officially,” Meijer told FOX 17 Thursday.
The House Problems Solvers Caucus has been around for about 4 years.
It’s made up of an equal number of Democrats and Republicans who work together on key policy issues; their latest effort included building the framework for the recent COVID relief package.
In a time of division, the group could be well suited to further bipartisan legislation.
“That's been a very operative group, whether it's on COVID relief or other policy proposals, to be able to really influence an outcome when we have both the House and the Senate that Republicans run minority but not by that many votes,” Meijer explained.
The group’s leadership believes it will take bipartisan lawmaking to restore faith in democratic institutions and to rebuild the struggling economy, in a statement Thursday adding, “This means standing up against political extremism and putting country ahead of party.”
As President Biden said today, “Unity is the path forward.”
— Problem Solvers Caucus (@ProbSolveCaucus) January 20, 2021
We all must come together — at every level — to solve our nation’s problems.
You can read our full @ProbSolveCaucus statement here — https://t.co/1eFBNjoGxF pic.twitter.com/zqtHxW1Cot
“I think it's easy to see how quickly we can return to a politics of division, and we need to have a politics of addition. I'm committed to that, but that also has to be a two-way street,” Meijer said.
“I'm concerned that now that the Democrats control the house, the Senate, and the presidency that they will try to use that as an excuse to enact politics of revenge, but it's important that we have folks who are following through on a politics of unity and not division.”
Meijer will be joining Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, who’s also a member of the Problem Solvers Caucus and serves as vice-chair.
Welcome to the @ProbSolveCaucus, @RepMeijer!
— Fred Upton #WearYourMask (@RepFredUpton) January 21, 2021
PSC is ready to roll our sleeves up & get to work. Fighting, blaming, & partisan bickering do nothing to help those millions of Americans struggling to make ends meet. #MI06 #MI03 🇺🇸 https://t.co/KDtwawLOUz
