Kurt's Work

Democratic Rep. Jim Cooper has long said Congress is broken. Now he’s starting a new caucus to fix it.

The bipartisan Fix Congress Now Caucus will be launched at a press conference at the Capitol tomorrow, according to Cooper’s office. Cooper is founding the group with three other lawmakers: Democratic Rep. Kurt Schrader of Oregon and Republican Reps. Scott Rigell of Virginia and Reid Ribble of Wisconsin.

Republican Rep. Diane Black of Gallatin also will join the group, according to Cooper’s spokeswoman, Katie Hill.

It’s not yet clear which specific parts of Congress the caucus plans to fix, but group members say they’ll start by pushing for passage of Cooper’s “No Budget, No Pay” Act. It would deny members of Congress their paychecks when they miss deadlines for budget measures and spending bills.

Cooper has also criticized the number of outdated laws that remain on the books, blaming the accumulation of old legislation for much of Congress’ spending problems.

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