Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) participate in fifth installment of The Senate Project series

Chuck Todd moderates special discussion hosted by the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the US Senate, the Bipartisan Policy Center, and the Orrin G. Hatch Foundation; event will be recorded at the Kennedy Institute in Boston and broadcast on C-SPAN Networks

JUNE 20, 2024 (Boston, Mass.) — The fifth installment of The Senate Project series will feature Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) in the replica Senate Chamber of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate in Boston on Thursday, June 27th. 

Moderated by NBC News Chief Political Analyst Chuck Todd, the Senators will debate various policy issues. The conversation will be available on the C-SPAN Networks, streamed at C-SPAN.org and Sirius XM POTUS Channel 124.

The Senate Project is a partnership between the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the U.S. Senate, Bipartisan Policy Center, and the Orrin G. Hatch Foundation. With this upcoming installment, ten Senators will have participated in The Senate Project to date, an initiative that brings current Senators before a national audience to model deliberation and the search for common interest.

“Too often what passes for debate in politics is acrimony and talking points. Worse is when opposing views are canceled without debate even taking place,” said Dr. Bill Cassidy. “The Senate Project is a forum which respects the American people enough to facilitate the discussion of opposing views. If public discourse is to improve, it should begin with each of us.”

“Polarization has been on the rise in the Senate for years, largely because of a broken campaign finance system that increasingly disincentivizes compromise,” said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse  “I am proud of my record of working on behalf of Rhode Islanders to carve out progress on issues where glimmers of bipartisanship still exist, and I look forward to doing so with Senator Cassidy in The Senate Project’s forum.”

“In a time when our country is so divided, The Senate Project is needed now more than ever to remind us why the Senate is the world’s greatest deliberative body,” said Bruce A. Percelay, Chair of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute Board of Directors. “With this being the fifth edition of The Senate Project series, it is clear that there is an appetite among the American people to see policymakers engage in civil debate in search of common ground.”

“These forums, and the two Senators in our fifth debate, highlights the creativity and courage required to govern a divided nation, something the two are both familiar with,” said Margaret Spellings, President & CEO of the Bipartisan Policy Center. “Senators Cassidy and Whitehouse are among our nation’s top thought leaders. As they discuss some of the leading issues of our time, we look forward to hearing spirited exchanges that lead to areas of consensus moving forward.”

“As we convene another session of The Senate Project, the value of this forum is more apparent than ever. This is the perfect platform for Senators Cassidy and Whitehouse to present their perspectives and demonstrate the collaborative spirit that Senator Hatch greatly valued,” said Matt Sandgren, Executive Director, Orrin G. Hatch Foundation. “We anticipate a robust exchange that highlights their different viewpoints and fosters a deeper exploration of potential commonsense solutions crucial for our nation’s prosperity.”

The Senate Project brings together senators from different ends of the political spectrum to hold civil, substantive discussion and debate aimed at modeling the possibility of bipartisan compromise and reaching common ground, a hallmark of the Senate for more than two centuries. The Senate Project and its founding partners take inspiration from the example of political bridge-building established by the late Senator Ted Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat, and the late Senator Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican, in working past party and political differences to forge consensus on landmark healthcare reform legislation and other bipartisan bills.

Previous editions of The Senate Project featured Senators Lindsey O. Graham (R-SC) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) at the Kennedy Institute in June 2022; Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Rob Portman (R-OH), hosted by the Bipartisan Policy Center at George Washington University in August 2022; Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) hosted by the Kennedy Institute in June 2023; and Chris Coons (D-DE) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) hosted by the Bipartisan Policy Center at George Washington University in September 2023. 

Republican Senator Bill Cassidy represents the great state of Louisiana and is the Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) and is a member of the Finance Committee, the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and the Veterans Affairs Committee. He is the first physician to sit as the HELP Ranking Member of Chairman since 1993.

Democrat Senator Sheldon Whitehouse represents the great state of Rhode Island and is the Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee and the Caucus on International Narcotics Control. He also serves as a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, the Environment and Public Works Committee, and the Finance Committee. 

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About The Senate Project
In a time of deep political polarization in America, the goal of The Senate Project is for the public to hear leading senators from competing ends of the political spectrum model deliberation for common interest. The format will allow senators to engage in extended, thoughtful, wide-ranging debate while exploring areas of constructive disagreement and searching for the bipartisan compromise that has been a hallmark of the Senate for more than two centuries. You can learn more at thesenateproject.org.

About the Edward M. Kennedy Institute
The Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate is dedicated to educating the public about the important role of the Senate in our government, encouraging participatory democracy, invigorating civil discourse, and inspiring the next generation of citizens and leaders to engage in the civic life of their communities. Learn more at emkinstitute.org.

About the Bipartisan Policy Center
The Bipartisan Policy Center is a not-for-profit organization that ensures policymakers work across party lines to craft bipartisan solutions. By bringing together Republicans and Democrats—and providing them with the space, policy insights, and evidence-based research they need to negotiate in good faith—we help turn legislators’ best ideas into passable, durable laws. Since 2007, the Bipartisan Policy Center has helped shepherd countless bills across the finish line. Learn more at bipartisanpolicy.org. 

About the Orrin G. Hatch Foundation
Civility and solutions—these are the twin pillars of the Orrin G. Hatch Foundation. They are the ideals that underpinned the senator’s service and that guide the organization’s mission today. The foundation seeks to engender greater civic participation and understanding, to facilitate bipartisan dialogue, and to foster commonsense solutions to our nation’s most pressing problems by convening the greatest minds in American public life for high-level discussions on the public policy challenges of the day. Learn more at orrinhatchfoundation.org.