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House Democrats and Republicans have agreed to begin a series of debates this month between members to focus attention on national issues facing the nation and show that Washington can rise above the partisan animosity. “These debates will enable Republicans and Democrats to discuss our differences without being disagreeable, and our policy differences without being partisan,” said Rep. Rahm Emanuel (Ill.), chairman of the House Democratic Caucus. “I look forward to the battle of ideas, not insults.” Rep. Adam Putnam (Fla.), chairman of the House Republican Conference, praised the bipartisan effort as a “unique opportunity for the American people to see an extension of the healthy exchange of ideas that occurs every day on the floor of the House of Representatives.”Putnam added that such debates, “carried out in a genuine spirit of bipartisanship,” can “help us to fix a broken Washington.” Leaders in both parties said they hoped the debates will be televised on C-SPAN, but at the very least will be available via the Web. The announcement comes on the same day that The Associated Press reported that Congress has one of its lowest approval rating in history, 22 percent. The first debate will be held Feb. 25 and moderated by National Journal columnist Ron Brownstein. Emanuel and Putnam, in addition to Reps. Robert Andrews (D-N.J.), Eric Cantor (R-Va.), Artur Davis (D-Ala.), Steve Israel (D-N.Y.), Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) and Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), will discuss how the U.S. can foster economic growth.
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