U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly has been recognized as the fourth most bipartisan member of Congress and the most bipartisan Democrat in both the U.S. House and U.S. Senate, according to Lugar Center Bipartisan Index compiled by the Christian Science Monitor. Earlier this year, Donnelly was ranked the second most bipartisan member of the U.S. Senate.
Donnelly said, when the Lugar Center rankings for 2015 were released, earlier this year, “I am the hired help and my job is to get things done for Indiana in the U.S. Senate. That responsibility has nothing to do with party affiliation and everything to do with supporting the best ideas, regardless of whether the idea comes from a Republican or a Democrat.”
Below is an excerpt from the Christian Science Monitor article:
Meet the 5 most bipartisan politicians in Congress
By Story Hinckley
These five politicians were ranked as the most bipartisan members of Congress by The Lugar Center’s 2015 Bipartisan Index.
4. Sen. Joe Donnelly (D) of Indiana
This summer, Senator Donnelly and Sen. Ben Sasse (R) of Nebraska led a bipartisan coalition of 70 senators to address federal regulators’ approach to credit unions and community banks. In a letter to Richard Cordray, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Donnelly and his colleagues urged the bureau to treat credit unions and community banks “differently from the largest financial institutions,” just as federal regulators do.
And in 2015, Donnelly partnered with Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R) of New Hampshire to address heroin and prescription drug abuse in the US.
“This bipartisan legislation would help support and strengthen local and state efforts to tackle this urgent public health issue,” said Donnelly in a press release. “I am proud to continue working with my friend Senator Ayotte to help address this epidemic affecting Indiana and our country.”
Donnelly is often seen as walking in Richard G. Lugar’s footsteps. Mr. Lugar, A former Indiana senator himself, is the president of The Lugar Center and the inspiration for its Bipartisan Index.
“We weren’t hired to help our party,” Sen. Donnelly said last year. “We were hired to do what’s right for the United States of America.”
