WASHINGTON, D.C., April 23, 2015—Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Arizona) addressed the Young Agents & InsurPac State Chairpersons Legislative Luncheon yesterday during the annual Big “I” Legislative Conference.

 

During her address Rep. Sinema, who is one of the youngest members of Congress and has been praised for her bipartisan efforts, discussed the importance of a fresh perspective when it comes to finding common political ground.

 

“We’re younger, we’re less ideological, we don’t care about whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat,” said Rep. Sinema, 38, who is serving in her second term in the U.S. House of Representatives representing Arizona’s 9th Congressional District. “We just want to solve problems and get things done for the communities we serve.”

 

In her mid-20s, Rep. Sinema’s efforts as a social worker, attorney and college faculty member led her to run for a seat in the Arizona state legislature.

 

“That’s where I learned what I think is the most important skill in politics: to build meaningful relationships with people who are different from yourself,” said Rep. Sinema, who serves on the House Committee on Financial Services including the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit and the Subcommittee on Monetary Policy and Trade.

 

It’s the same bipartisan spirit that now drives Rep. Sinema’s Congressional efforts in Washington, D.C. “What allows me to be successful is my ability to form relationships and make friends with all my colleagues—even those with whom I have very little in common,” she said. “We all have more in common than we know. You all experience this with your clients and the folks you serve every day.”

 

With Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Florida), Rep. Sinema co-founded a group called the United Solutions Caucus, a bipartisan organization in Congress interested in breaking the partisan gridlock and finding solutions to the country’s biggest challenges.

 

“Our pledge is simple: We want Washington to work for the people that we serve, and we believe the best way to make it work is to lay down the swords, pick up the pens and work together to make that happen,” Rep. Sinema said. “We’re trying to make it cool to be bipartisan and cool to compromise in Congress. We hope this younger energy will help bring in a new era.”

 

That new era will hopefully involve honest, open dialogue and transparency across the aisle. “Make friends with people and use that as a way to get things done,” Rep. Sinema said. “You’re going to do something for your friends that you wouldn’t do for someone you don’t like or for a stranger.”

 

“The Big ‘I’ is proud to have such a strong relationship with Rep. Sinema and was honored to have her address our Young Agent and InsurPac leaders,” says Charles E. Symington, Jr., Big “I” senior vice president for external and government affairs. “We have worked with her on numerous important issues including terrorism insurance, agent licensing reform, and flood insurance just to name a few. She is well-respected for her commitment to working across the aisle as well as for her leadership on the House Financial Services Committee and with the moderate Blue Dog Coalition.”

 

Rep. Sinema is an Arizona native with numerous academic degrees including a bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University and a PhD from Arizona State University.

 

The event also featured the presentation of the annual InsurPac National Championship awards, Young Agent of the Year and Eagle awards.

 

 

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