Schock: Bipartisanship Built By ‘Rank And File,’ Not Leadership

Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Ill., questions organizations that say they were unfairly targeted by the Internal Revenue Service while seeking tax-exempt status testify at the House Ways and Means Committee hearing on Capitol... Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Ill., questions organizations that say they were unfairly targeted by the Internal Revenue Service while seeking tax-exempt status testify at the House Ways and Means Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 4, 2013. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak) MORE LESS
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Rep. Aaron Schock (R-IL) on Sunday said that Congressional leaders are not as effective at pushing bipartisan legislation as are members of the “rank and file.”

“The deal that was struck between Paul Ryan and Patty Murray would never have been trotted out by John Boehner or Harry Reid if first those two budget chairmen had not agreed and the budget conferees not agreed,” he said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

He argued that there needs to be consensus lower in the ranks for comprehensive legislation to move through Congress.

“Had there not already been a coalition, a group of people already embracing that deal, if John Boehner would have done that on his own, if Harry Reid would have done that on their own, it never would have passed,” Schock said. “And it requires sometimes the rank and file, or folks further down the leadership ladder, to bring forth thoughtful ideas and build the momentum before we ultimately get the leaders to embrace it and change to happen.”

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