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It is easy to look at American politics and conclude that bipartisanship has disappeared. The national political conversation is often dominated by partisan conflict, campaign rhetoric, and disagreements that seem impossible to resolve. But MASA looks beyond the loudest headlines to where we find a different, more hopeful side to our government landscape.
From Congress to state capitols to city halls, elected officials from both parties and, in many cases, officials who belong to different parties than the leaders they work with, continued to find areas where cooperation was possible. Examples from the past spring/summer offer an important reminder: bipartisanship does not require politicians to agree on everything. It requires them to recognize where agreement is possible and then work together to accomplish something useful.
April 2026:
- Kansas: Supporting independence and personal decision-making
On April 7, Democratic Governor Laura Kelly signed Senate Bill 84, establishing the Supported Decision-Making Agreements Act. The law gives adults who want assistance with decision-making a formal way to receive support from trusted adults while retaining control over their own lives.
The legislation can help people navigate decisions involving areas such as healthcare, finances, and housing while preserving their independence. Governor Kelly described the legislation as a way to give Kansans support while allowing them to remain as independent as possible.
The governor also signed several other bipartisan bills that day, including legislation involving housing development, nursing regulations, education, and other areas of state government.
The lesson is straightforward: sometimes the most effective bipartisan legislation is legislation focused on giving people more choices rather than telling them how to live. - Illinois: A Republican mayor and Democratic governor work together
In Jacksonville, Illinois, Republican Mayor Andy Ezard highlighted his willingness to work with Democratic Governor JB Pritzker on issues affecting the city, including the redevelopment of the Jacksonville Developmental Center and workforce housing. Ezard acknowledged that he and the governor do not agree on everything. But he also emphasized that political differences should not prevent local and state officials from working together when their communities need results.
May 2026:
- Pennsylvania Finds Common Ground in a Divided Political Environment
On May 2, Democratic and Republican legislators approved a revised state budget that added nearly $300 million in school and municipal aid for the upcoming fiscal year.
The additional funding ultimately helped communities such as Meriden receive more resources for education and municipal services. In Meriden, the additional state assistance helped preserve teaching positions, fund student-support positions, and reduce the city’s property-tax rate.
Pennsylvania’s eventual 2026–27 budget also included major investments in education, workforce development, childcare, public safety, infrastructure and economic development. The final budget was described by Governor Josh Shapiro as bipartisan and included a number of priorities that had support across party lines.
This is particularly significant because budgets force elected officials to make choices among competing priorities. Compromise becomes more meaningful when there is real money, and real consequence, on the table. - Clean water remains common ground
Another example of bipartisan policymaking continued to play out at the state and local levels through implementation of the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
In May, Connecticut was awarded another $27.5 million in federal funding to identify and replace lead service lines. The funding was part of the infrastructure law’s nationwide effort to remove dangerous lead pipes from drinking-water systems. The federal program has dedicated billions of dollars to lead-pipe replacement, while states and municipalities are responsible for putting those resources to work in individual communities.
This illustrates an often-overlooked form of bipartisan cooperation: federal legislation can create the framework, while state and local governments turn that framework into results for residents.
June 2026:
- Congress Comes Together on Housing
By June, the bipartisan housing effort had reached a major miles. The Senate passed the ROAD to Housing Act on June 22 by 85–5, followed the next day by House passage with a 358–32 vote. The overwhelming margins were notable in a Congress frequently characterized by partisan division.
The legislation included dozens of provisions addressing housing supply and affordability. Among other measures, it included policies designed to streamline aspects of the housing-development process and restrictions on the ability of large institutional investors to purchase certain single-family homes.
The legislation ultimately became law in July, making it one of the clearest examples of substantial bipartisan cooperation during the period.
Housing is also a useful reminder that bipartisanship does not necessarily mean everyone gets everything they want. Instead, it often means enough people from both sides agree that doing something is better than doing nothing. - States Show That Bipartisan Progress Can Be Routine
At the state level, bipartisan cooperation was also taking place on less nationally controversial, but highly consequential, issues.
Vermont’s governor, Republican Phil Scott, signed a wide range of legislation passed by the state’s General Assembly in June, covering issues including consumer data privacy, homelessness, banking and insurance, motor vehicles, regional planning and government appropriations.
Not every bill represented a bipartisan agreement, and Governor Scott vetoed other legislation. That distinction is important. Bipartisanship is not the absence of disagreement. A healthy political system should contain disagreements. The goal is to create enough space for lawmakers to disagree on some issues while still finding opportunities to work together on others.
July 2026:
- North Carolina Modernizes State Government
On July 6, Democratic Governor Josh Stein signed Senate Bill 1041, creating the Public Workforce Modernization Act. The legislation represents the largest overhaul of North Carolina’s state human-resources system in more than 60 years. The bill passed the General Assembly with unanimous, bipartisan support. - Water Infrastructure Moves Forward
Congress also continued the bipartisan tradition surrounding federal water infrastructure.
In July, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee advanced the Water Resources Development Act of 2026 with bipartisan support. WRDA legislation authorizes projects involving flood-risk management, navigation, and ecosystem restoration, while also supporting drinking-water and wastewater infrastructure programs.
The 2026 package included 61 feasibility studies and 15 new or modified construction projects, along with reauthorization of important water-infrastructure programs.
August 2026:
- Delaware Puts Families First
On August 17, Democratic Governor Matt Meyer signed two bipartisan bills designed to make it easier for families receiving assistance through the state’s Purchase of Care program to access summer camps and childcare. The legislation addressed administrative and licensing barriers that had prevented some summer camps from serving families receiving assistance. The bills passed the General Assembly with broad bipartisan support and took effect immediately.
The effort also brought together the governor’s office, state legislators, the YMCA of Delaware, the Department of Education, and other state partners. - Bipartisanship Helps Avoid Another Shutdown
On August 8, the Senate approved a short-term government funding measure by an overwhelming 90–6 vote. The measure would keep federal agencies funded through December 11, pushing the next major funding deadline past the November midterm elections and helping avoid another government shutdown.
The vote came after negotiations among Senate leaders and included provisions addressing concerns from both parties. It also temporarily blocked proposed changes that would give political appointees greater control over federal grants. The bill still required House action after the August recess, so it was not yet a completed legislative solution at that point. But the Senate vote demonstrated something important: after experiencing two major shutdowns, senators from both parties had a strong incentive to avoid repeating the experience. Sometimes bipartisanship is born from a shared recognition that everyone loses when government stops functioning. - Bipartisan Support for Medical Research
The Senate unanimously passed the bipartisan DeOndra Dixon NIH INCLUDE Project Act in August. The legislation would formally authorize the National Institutes of Health’s INCLUDE Project, the agency’s first NIH-wide research initiative focused on improving the health and quality of life of people with Down syndrome. The legislation was led in the Senate by Democrat John Hickenlooper and Republican Jerry Moran. Its House companion had previously passed unanimously, led by Democrat Diana DeGette and Republican Richard Hudson.
What These Examples Tell Us
Taken together, the April–August record tells a more complicated story than the daily political headlines suggest. Bipartisan cooperation did not solve every major problem facing the country. It did not eliminate ideological disagreements. And many major issues remained deeply polarized. But cooperation continued to happen.
It happened around:
- Housing affordability and supply
- Government modernization
- Childcare
- Medical research
- Water and infrastructure
- Education and municipal funding
- Government funding
- Individual independence and disability rights
- State and local economic development
And it happened at every level of government. At the federal level, Republicans and Democrats passed major legislation together. At the state level, legislators worked across party lines on budgets, government modernization, housing and family policy. At the local level, officials demonstrated that working relationships can cross party lines even when political differences remain.
Bipartisanship Does Not Mean Agreement on Everything
There is a tendency to define bipartisanship too narrowly. We sometimes expect a bipartisan government to look like two parties sitting around a table agreeing on virtually everything. That is not realistic—and it isn’t necessary.
The more useful definition is simpler:
Bipartisanship is the willingness to find areas of common interest and work together despite disagreement elsewhere.
The examples of 2026 show that this can happen when lawmakers focus on tangible problems rather than political identity. A bipartisan housing bill does not mean Republicans and Democrats suddenly agree on every aspect of housing policy. The same goes for childcare and infrastructure. It means they found something they could accomplish together, and that matters.
Common Ground Is Still There
Perhaps the most encouraging takeaway from these examples is not that America has suddenly become bipartisan. It hasn’t. The disagreements are real, and many are substantial.
But the assumption that Americans and their elected officials have nothing left to agree on is also wrong. From Kansas to Delaware, from North Carolina to Pennsylvania, from city halls to the U.S. Senate, the spring and summer of 2026 produced examples of officials putting cooperation ahead of complete agreement.
These successes may not generate the same attention as political conflict. But they should. Because democracy does not require everyone to think alike. It requires us to keep finding ways to work together.
That is where common sense becomes common ground—and where government can actually get things done.
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