Altmire Sees Bipartisanship in 2011

As control of the house moves from one party to the other, US Congressman Jason Altmire of Beaver says he hopes bipartisanship will be the rule for the next two years. Altmire says he thinks the two parties will be able to build on the cooperation seen during the debate to extend the Bush-era tax cuts. He says he knows there are some newly elected congressmen who feel they did not get sent to Washington to be bipartisan but he hopes he will be able to work on changing their minds. “I have always has a pretty good relationship with Republicans. I’m somebody in the middle who likes to work with both sides. I enjoy bipartisanship and getting people involved from across the political spectrum,” says Altmire, “I’ve garnered some respect on the Republican side and I feel I’m going to be able to work pretty well with the new congressional leadership.” Altmire says the only way Congress is going to get anything done is if the members work together.

Altmire says budget issues will be the focus for the foreseeable future in Washington.

The Democrat says he hopes to be able to find time among all of the budget debate to help veterans, “I think we need to make sure that we treat the folks who are coming back from the field of battle and keep the promises that we have made them and treat them as well as we possibly can and I think there is work to be done on that,” says Altmire.