Republican Rep. Mike Johnson from Louisiana, who authored the Commitment to Civility, is the other founder.

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Reps. Charlie Crist, D-St. Petersburg, and Mike Johnson, R-LA, have founded a bipartisan Honor and Civility Caucus to uphold and promote the ideals of civility and statesmanship and to restore trust and confidence in America’s political institutions.

The caucus will work to foster more productive dialogue in Congress and to advance specific initiatives to improve the tone of the nation’s politics and public discourse.

An official caucus membership invitation is being sent to members of Congress this week, and many leaders on both sides of the aisle have already expressed an interest in joining. Earlier this year, more than 120 members signed on to the Commitment to Civility, which was authored by Johnson and has been attributed to making a significant impact on the Hill.

Crist and Johnson released this statement:

“As the nation’s leaders, members of Congress should aspire to the highest standards and set an example of personal integrity, decency and mutual respect for the generations of Americans that will follow. We can be stalwarts of our respective policy positions without tearing one another down. Although the members of this caucus will represent both political parties and a wide range of individual views across the political spectrum, our belief is that we can disagree in an agreeable manner and maintain collegiality and the honor of our office. Our aim is to help reverse the increasing divisions in and coarsening of our culture.”

Johnson authored the Commitment to Civility in January to memorialize the members’ agreement to, among other things, restore collegiality, trust and civility to the Congress, encourage productive dialogue, and work to build consensus and the public’s trust in America’s institutions.

In a continuation of this effort, Crist and Johnson introduced bipartisan legislation in June to designate a National Day of Civility on July 12, inspired in part by the language of Matthew 7:12, which begins: “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you.”

The seventh annual report on Civility in America was released earlier this year, finding that incivility has reached “crisis levels” in the U.S.. Nine out of 10 Americans agreed that incivility leads to intimidation, threats, harassment, discrimination, violence and cyberbullying. A majority of Americans said they believe that incivility in our politics encourages general incivility in society and deters citizens from engaging in public service.

Crist represents Florida’s 13th Congressional District, which includes south and mid-Pinellas County.

For information about Crist, go to crist.house.gov.

Charlie Crist | Mike Johnson | Civility | Politics | Tampabay News

#CharlieCrist #MikeJohnson #Civility #Politics #TampabayNews