Problem Solvers Caucus

History

The Problem Solvers Caucus developed over time as an outgrowth of informal meetings organized by the group No Labels. No Labels spent years on Capitol Hill working to get members in a room to talk with colleagues from the other party. These informal "get to know you" meetings led to more substantive cooperation across the aisle, including the introduction of nine bipartisan bills to reduce government waste and inefficiency, and the introduction of the No Budget, No Pay Act of 2013 and the Medicare "doc fix" in 2015.

Over time, No Labels continued to organize members into a more cohesive group and eventually branded the group the "Problem Solvers" and recruited its first two co-chairs, Rep. Reid Ribble (R-WI) and Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-OR). This group of members organized by No Labels also signed a resolution (H.R. 207) calling for both parties to unify behind a National Strategic Agenda with four goals: job creation, balancing the budget, securing Medicare and Social Security, and energy security.

Then co-chairs Reed and Gottheimer said in 2017, "We all knew the partisanship in Washington had gotten out of control and felt the need to create a bipartisan group committed to getting to 'yes' on important issues. We have agreed to vote together for any policy proposal that garners the support of 75 percent of the entire Problem Solvers Caucus, as well as 51 percent of both the Democrats and Republicans in the caucus." To ensure party balance, a new member can only join the caucus when a member of the opposing party joins at the same time.

Healthcare reform

During the week of August 4, 2017, the 43-member House Problem Solvers Caucus released a compromise to shore up the struggling insurance exchanges. The proposal focused on the skyrocketing cost of individual health insurance premiums. At the time, the Trump administration considered suspending cost-sharing payments that defray out-of-pocket costs such as deductibles and co-payments, a move that insurers said could cause premiums to rise by 15 percent or more.

The second part of the Problem Solvers plan would have provided relief to help states address the high costs of pre-existing and chronic conditions. The relief is provided through a dedicated stability fund that states could use to reduce premiums and limit losses for providing coverage for these high-cost patients. The third part of the plan relieves certain businesses of the mandate to provide insurance to full-time employees. It also defines "full time" as a 40-hour workweek to discourage businesses from manipulating employees' weekly hours to skirt the mandate.

The plan would also have eliminated the Medical Device Tax, an excise charge of 2.3 percent, which opponents claim is passed on to consumers and reduces funds for research and development.

Congressional rules reform

After the 2018 midterm elections, the Problem Solvers Caucus and the House Democratic Leadership negotiated a package to reform the rules of the House. The Washington Post's Editorial Board predicted that those new rules should "ease consideration of bipartisan amendments, create a 'consensus calendar' to reserve time for bills with wide bipartisan support and make it harder for extremists on the House's wings to threaten to oust the speaker." Some on the left argued against the changes saying they would essentially weaken Speaker Pelosi and the Democrats in the House.

COVID-19 relief

In September 2020, the Problem Solvers released their "March to Common Ground" COVID-19 relief package, an outline of a bipartisan Congressional compromise that demonstrated that members of both parties were willing to listen to each other to craft legislation.

Capitol riot and reaction

On May 18, 2021, the Problem Solvers Caucus endorsed bipartisan legislation to investigate the attack on the Capitol.

The next day, 18 of 28 Republican Problem Solvers, compared to 17 of the other 182 Republicans voting and every Democrat voting, voted in support of creating a bipartisan commission to lead the investigation.

Ousting of McCarthy

After the 2023 October Continuing Resolution was passed on September 30, 2023, Congressman Matt Gaetz presented the motion to vacate against Speaker Kevin McCarthy on October 3, in which all Democrats voted to vacate alongside eight Republicans. Republican members of the Problem Solvers Caucus criticized their Democratic counterparts for not defending McCarthy after he passed a bipartisan bill, considering it an undermining of bipartisanship credibility, although Nancy Mace, a Republican member of the Problem Solvers Caucus herself, also voted alongside Democrats to remove McCarthy. Within the caucus, the Republican argument that defending the speaker would protect the institution was met with the Democratic rebuttal that McCarthy refused to certify the 2020 election. The schism formed from this event persisted long after the vote, with the caucus acting only in small groups rather than as a 64-member bloc for bipartisan issues. Republican members were looking at removing Democratic members who did not cross the aisle often enough, while Democratic members believed the caucus was not doing enough to combat the far-right influence in the general GOP.

119th Congress

After the results of the 2024 United States House of Representatives elections showed the 119th United States Congress would have an even narrower Republican majority than the 118th had, the group met as a whole for the first time in a year.

Membership

This group includes 49 members as of March 6, 2025: 26 Democrats and 23 Republicans.

Democrats

Salud Carbajal (D‑CA‑24)

Ed Case (D‑HI‑1) (vice-chair)

Jim Costa (D‑CA‑21)

Angie Craig (D‑MN‑2)

Henry Cuellar (D‑TX‑28)

Don Davis (D‑NC‑1)

Debbie Dingell (D‑MI‑6)

Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D‑WA‑3)

Jared Golden (D‑ME‑2)

Josh Gottheimer (D‑NJ‑5)

Josh Harder (D‑CA‑9)

Steven Horsford (D‑NV‑4)

Chrissy Houlahan (D‑PA‑6)

Greg Landsman (D‑OH‑1) (co-whip)

Susie Lee (D‑NV‑3) (vice-chair)

Donald Norcross (D‑NJ‑1)

Jimmy Panetta (D‑CA‑19)

Chris Pappas (D‑NH‑1)

Scott Peters (D‑CA‑50)

Brittany Pettersen (D‑CO‑7)

Brad Schneider (D‑IL‑10)

Hillary Scholten (D‑MI‑3)

Darren Soto (D‑FL‑9)

Haley Stevens (D‑MI‑11)

Tom Suozzi (D‑NY‑3) (co-chair)

Republicans

Don Bacon (R‑NE‑2) (co-whip)

Rob Bresnahan (R‑PA‑8)

Juan Ciscomani (R‑AZ‑6)

Ben Cline (R‑VA‑6)

Chuck Edwards (R‑NC‑11)

Gabe Evans (R‑CO‑8)

Brian Fitzpatrick (R‑PA‑1) (co-chair)

Andrew Garbarino (R‑NY‑2) (vice-chair)

Jeff Hurd (R‑CO‑3)

Dusty Johnson (R‑SD‑AL)

David Joyce (R‑OH‑14)

Thomas Kean Jr. (R‑NJ‑7)

Jen Kiggans (R‑VA‑2)

Young Kim (R‑CA‑40)

Nick LaLota (R‑NY‑1)

Mike Lawler (R‑NY‑17)

Nicole Malliotakis (R‑NY‑11) (vice-chair)

Daniel Meuser (R‑PA‑9)

Blake Moore (R‑UT‑1)

James Moylan (R‑GU‑AL)

Maria Elvira Salazar (R‑FL‑27)

Bryan Steil (R‑WI‑1)

David Valadao (R‑CA‑22)

Former members

Lou Correa of California

Vicente Gonzalez of Texas

Mark Pocan of Wisconsin

Anthony Brindisi of New York (lost reelection in 2020)

Carolyn Bourdeaux of Georgia (lost renomination in 2022 due to redistricting)

Joe Cunningham of South Carolina (lost reelection in 2020)

Elizabeth Esty of Connecticut (did not seek reelection in 2018)

Kendra Horn of Oklahoma (lost reelection in 2020)

Conor Lamb of Pennsylvania (did not seek reelection in 2022)

Daniel Lipinski of Illinois (lost Democratic nomination in 2020)

Elaine Luria of Virginia (lost reelection in 2022)

Tom Malinowski of New Jersey (lost reelection in 2022)

Ben McAdams of Utah (lost reelection in 2020)

Stephanie Murphy of Florida (did not seek reelection in 2022)

Richard Nolan of Minnesota (did not seek reelection in 2018)

Tom O'Halleran of Arizona (lost reelection in 2022)

Jared Polis of Colorado (elected Governor of Colorado in 2018)

Media coverage

The New York Times reported in May 2023 that the Democratic wing of the caucus is in "open revolt" over No Labels' progress in pursuing a third-party presidential ticket for 2024.

Tom Reed, former Republican co-chair said in 2019, "The Problem Solvers Caucus has been finding itself in the middle of several key battles and make common cause with its natural Senate allies".

Mark Pocan, a former caucus member and co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, a left-leaning organization, said in 2018 that he was "duped" by No Labels and the PSC, saying that rather than "breaking gridlock", it was "a fast track for special interests and lobbyists."