Accomplishments

Oct. 2:  Across the Aisle Foundation, the educational arm of No Labels, hosted the First 100 Days of the 113th Congress event
Across the Aisle Foundation hosted 300 congressional staffers from both sides of the aisle in a discussion about problem solving. The panel of speakers was moderated by MSNBC hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski and included Sen. Evan Bayh, Rep. Tom Davis, RealClearPolitics Editor Carl Cannon, Caterpillar CEO Doug Oberhelman, Gov. John Engler, and No Labels Co-Founders Mark McKinnon and Bill Galston.

Aug 2: Congress Passes Legislation to Reduce Number of Executive Positions -- a No Labels proposal

In August, the House of Representatives joined the Senate and approved S. 679, legislation that reduces the number of executive positions subject to Senate confirmation. Decreasing the number of executive positions to come in front of the Senate for confirmation is one of the most important proposals in No Labels' Make the Presidency Work! action plan. Senator Joe Lieberman partnered with Senators Susan Collins, Lamar Alexander, and Charles Schumer to lead the effort to pass the legislation in June 2011, following an agreement by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. The House followed suit in August.

Other presidential appointment reform proposals outlined in No Labels’ Make the Presidency Work! action plan include calling for an up-or-down vote on all presidential nominations after 90 days and having the president identify a “slate that can’t wait” of critical nominees for expedited confirmation. 

July 13: No Labels releases Make the Presidency Work! action plan
The Make the Presidency Work! action plan is part of No Labels’ ongoing effort to overcome the dysfunction, gridlock and hyper-partisanship that prevents us from dealing with our profound national challenges.

This plan comes on the heels of our Make Congress Work! action plan, which featured a dozen common sense proposals to reform the outdated rules, procedures and traditions in the House and the Senate.

“If the proposals were enacted, the next president would have more latitude to reorganize the government, appoint his own team, reject special-interest measures and fast-track his own initiatives through Congress. But he would also be called on to interact more regularly with lawmakers, reporters and the public.” wrote Peter Baker in The New York Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/14/us/politics/no-labels-group-offers-ideas-for-more-effective-presidency.html

March 14: Senate committee holds hearing on Make Congress Work! action plan and Mark McKinnon talks with Stephen Colbert
"This proposal is like a legislative scream," said Sen. Joe Lieberman as he opened a historic hearing on the No Budget, No Pay Act and other proposals in No Labels’ Make Congress Work! action plan in the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Sen. Dean Heller and Rep. Jim Cooper, the bill sponsors, testified before the committee calling on Congress to fix itself.

Five other senators on the committee attended including Sens. Susan Collins, Ron Johnson, Scott Brown, Mark Pryor and Tom Coburn. No Labels Co-Founders Rep. Tom Davis and Bill Galston also testified, and Galston noted that “It’s very rare for the institution to hold a hearing on ways to fix itself.”

That night, No Labels Co-Founder Mark McKinnon went on The Colbert Report to share the successes of the No Labels movement with Colbert Nation.

Click here to get a full recap of the press coverage surrounding the hearing.

Jan. 24: President Obama endorses reform no. 2 in our Make Congress Work! action plan  

It was a No Labels kind of night when President Obama gave his 2012 State of the Union address. First, Obama took a page right out of our Make Congress Work! action plan. “I ask the Senate to pass a rule that all judicial and public service nominations receive a simple up or down vote within 90 days,” Obama said.

In addition, more than 200 members of Congress bucked decades of tradition and sat with lawmakers from the opposite party during the address. Bipartisan seating was point no. 10 in the plan. Click here to read more about our plan to change the rules and fix what’s broken in Washington.

Jan. 23: No Labels holds town hall teleconference with a bipartisan group of lawmakers, business leader and more than 200,000 citizens
More than 200,000 Americans joined a No Labels town hall teleconference with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), Reps. Robert Dold (R-IL) and Tim Griffin (R-AR), and Panera Bread Founder & Executive Chairman Ron Shaich, moderated by Kiki McLean, to talk about how to Make Congress Work!

“When you talk about common sense ideas, I know that you'll find a lot of Democrats, Republicans and Independents who have so much in common - and No Labels is bringing us together,” Sen. Manchin said on the call. Click here to listen to the call recording.

Jan. 23: iTunes releases and features the No Labels Anthem in its music store
When Grammy award-winning R&B artist Akon heard about No Labels, he was so inspired by the movement that he stayed up all night to write a song. The result, the "No Labels Anthem,” performed by Broadway superstar Deborah Cox, went live in the iTunes music store in January 2012 and was featured on the R&B page. Click here to buy your copy of the song now for just 99 cents or set it as a ringtone on your iPhone for a $1.29.