Press Releases

 Reps. Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Charlie Crist (D-FL) established a new bipartisan Honor and Civility Caucus to uphold and promote the ideals of civility and statesmanship and to restore trust and confidence in America’s political institutions. The caucus will work to foster more productive dialogue in Congress and to advance specific initiatives to improve the tone of the nation’s politics and public discourse.

An official caucus membership invitation is being sent to members of Congress this week, and many leaders on both sides of the aisle have already expressed an interest in joining. Earlier this year, more than 120 members signed on to the “Commitment to Civility,” which was authored by Johnson and has been attributed to making a significant impact on Capitol Hill. 

Reps. Johnson and Crist released the following statement:

“As the nation’s leaders, members of Congress should aspire to the highest standards and set an example of personal integrity, decency and mutual respect for the generations of Americans that will follow. We can be stalwarts of our respective policy positions without tearing one another down. Although the members of this caucus will represent both political parties and a wide range of individual views across the political spectrum, our belief is that we can disagree in an agreeable manner and maintain collegiality and the honor of our office. Our aim is to help reverse the increasing divisions in and coarsening of our culture.”

Background

Johnson authored the “Commitment to Civility” in January to memorialize the members’ agreement to, among other things, restore collegiality, trust and civility to the Congress, encourage productive dialogue, and work to build consensus and the public's trust in America’s institutions.

In a continuation of this effort, Johnson and Crist introduced bipartisan legislation in June to designate a National Day of Civility to propose an annual observance on July 12, inspired in part by the language of Matthew 7:12, which begins: "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you.”  

The 7th annual report on Civility in America was released earlier this year, finding that incivility has reached “crisis levels” in our country. Nine out of 10 Americans agree that incivility leads to intimidation, threats, harassment, discrimination, violence and cyberbullying. A majority of Americans believe that incivility in our politics encourages general incivility in society and deters citizens from engaging in public service.