New Jersey Rep. Josh Gottheimer says political differences shouldn't stop Congress from getting things done
FAIR LAWN, N.J. -- Republicans are in control of the House of Representatives, but Congress is as divided as ever.
New Jersey Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a moderate Democrat, said Friday political differences should not get in the way of getting things done.
"What I'm focused on is actually governing," Gottheimer told CBS2.
Gottheimer, beginning his fourth term representing New Jersey's 5th Congressional District, is co-chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus.
"Democrats and Republicans who want to get things done and realize that we need to govern," said Gottheimer.
The Problem Solvers Caucus helped get bipartisan support for major infrastructure and gun laws.
"All those things were done with a four-seat Democratic majority. Now we have a four-seat Republican majority. We're going to have to work together. There's plenty we've got to do," said Gottheimer.
With Republicans in control, Gottheimer believes it's more important than ever to reach across the aisle. But the gears of Washington, D.C. often grind slowly in a divided Congress.
Alain Sanders, a political science professor emeritus at Saint Peter's University, said both sides are focused on messaging, not legislating.
"At some point, public opinion starts to mature, and the parties realize that they actually need to accomplish something to get past the gridlock and get past the negative public opinion," said Sanders. "Then I think you will see that that group has some potential to reach compromises and to strike deals."
CBS2 caught up with Gottheimer in Fair Lawn, where to touted the infrastructure law and its impact on clean drinking water. He hopes more compromise is on tap.
"There's plenty of people who want to come together, and frankly it's going to take folks who are willing to work with the other side, to legislate and to stand up to the extremists, right? This is really at the end of the day about people who want common sense versus the extremists," said Gottheimer.
Tackling the debt ceiling and immigration reform are next on the agenda, according to Gottheimer.
