Name: Most Powerful Women Summit 2019: Leading Together From Across the Aisle
Uploaded: 2019-10-22
Duration: 15 min 17 s
Description: Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) join the MPW Summit.

We come up with these themes leading together. And then this is a perfect example of leading together. So thank you both for being here. Elise has been with us before. So I think Nina gave great background on you. My first question before we talk about you, leading together, I would like each of you to explain briefly how you got here, here and to Congress. So, Elise, let's start with you. Sure, so I'm in my third term, I represent a district in upstate New York and I decided to run in 2014 because I felt that my district needed an energetic new generation voice, who had the courage to put out new ideas. And what was really interesting is, initially, there were a lot of naysayers. I was 29 years old at the time, no one thought I could win a primary, let alone a general election. And my district is a pretty evenly split district But when I ran and we built a coalition, not just within my own party but across party lines, we won by over 20 points, and we won by double digits since then, so I think what really resonates with voters today, particularly young voters, is they're looking for problem solvers who get things done. But I ran to bring that new generation of leadership and work across the aisle and I've been able to deliver that to my district. Hi everyone, I'm Elissa Slotkin, I'm a former CIA officer. I did three tours in Iraq alongside the military. I met my husband in Saddam's palace. He's an R- 30 year Army officer. [ LAUGH ] It's where every good girl meets her husband. [ LAUGH ] You know, Come on ladies you all know it. [ LAUGH ] And then I was at the Pentagon for seven years and left there as an acting assistant secretary of defense so my entire background is in national security and actually Elise and I worked at the same time in the Bush White House on the National Security Council. I was sent down there by the CIA So we've known each other for a while. And I ran after being very apolitical my entire life. I ran because I just felt the tone and tenor of politics has become unbecoming of the country. And I'm from Michigan, mid- Michigan. I live on my family farm. And the people in my district just want the government to function. It's a very bipartisan district. It's a Republican district. And so just rational practical people who area focused on solving problems is what they want. And I saw that my representative wasn't doing enough and so I decided to run and I won last November I'm in my first term .>> [ APPLAUSE ] So how do you lead together? Well, I think you make a conscious decision to choose to reach across the aisle. Alyssa and I and sometimes we get confused. Other members confuse us because We both have brown hair We both are national security minded and Alyssa Slotkin Elise to phonic say that three times fast. [ LAUGH ] And we vote similarly on a number of issues. We've worked on a number of bills together, one of them is closing loopholes when it comes to foreign dollars being spent on digital ads. That's one of my concerns when it comes to securing our elections. And I think you have the numbers we've co- sponsored or worked on 85 pieces of legislation together? Yeah So you really have to make that conscious effort and one metric that I think is important that I look at Is the Luger series does an assessment at the end of every Congress rating how bipartisan you are as a member of Congress, and I've been very proud to be in the top 10 % most bipartisan members, but you have to choose to do that. [ APPLAUSE ] [ APPLAUSE ] and it is a choice, especially in this polarized environment, from both the right and the left. You know, I, the first day that I was in congress, we're all on floor of the house, we're having our first vote and I made the point of walking across the aisle, literally and going to find Elise and saying: hey, we haven't seen each other in years, it's so good to be serving together Can we work together on things? I have this bill idea. She'll come to me. It is a conscious effort. And I would say the number of people in Congress who make that conscious effort is not probably give enough. It is not a coincidence that both Elise and I are in districts that are really, can kinda go either way. That they're really, either they lean one way or the other but they have a history of kind of Voting different ways. That means our seats are more competitive. That means it's our job to reach out to the broadest possible group of people. That's a good thing. That's a good thing. And if everyone in Congress had that kind of like drive, pushing them back home, I think we'd actually get a lot more done. So Nina, in the introduction mentioned two bills that you have sponsored together. One was the To provide more support for the northern border in which clearly is of interest to both of you being from Michigan and up state New York. And especially at the time when the southern border obviously is sucking up a lot of Manpower and attention. The other bill is very important right now and describe explain to this group what the paid ad act is. Yeah. So this was what Elise was alluding to it so it says very basic idea. That foreigners should not be able to buy digital ads for or against a candidate in an American election. That's what it is. [ APPLAUSE ] That's what it is. And I think no matter what party you're from, I think most of us agree that foreigners should not have a hand in trying to influence our political process. And so, We've been working on this it's actually coming to the floor as part of a package tomorrow, something called the shield act as the big name for it. And, you know, it's something that we very deliberately did bipartisan, because it shouldn't be a partisan issue, you know, and certainly I'm from Michigan So we saw these ads in our last elections. We were targeted and they are divisive and meant to split us apart, and I always say to people like we're gonna put those divisive ads out, it should be red blooded Americans that do it, gosh darn it. [ LAUGH ] Not foreigners, right? Not foreigners so that's the point. And Michigan, I have read, was one of the Top targets. Targets of Russian interference. Yeah. I mean, we know that they digitally targeted our state among all others swing states and that was a very popular thing. In the 2016 election. In 2016. And I think it's important, I mean, the bill that we've co- sponsored, there's a lot of time. Talk in the ether, about the mama report and all this stuff, but there was no one focusing on actually changing the system passing legislation that makes us safer in 2020 than we were in 2016. And so again, it's a hallmark of being a problem solver. Are you going to get on TV and squawk about it one way or the other or you can actually pass legislation To make the situation better. Who has a question? Wow. Over here. Can we get a mic. It's coming. Hold off. Please identify yourself when you, there's one up here and then we have one in the front also. Colleen McCreary I'm with Credit Karma. My question actually [ UNKNOWN ] I heard you on a podcast a couple of weeks ago And you're back home in your district. And you did a really great job of being very matter of fact when people are being exceptionally emotional about a number of topics, primarily talking a lot about Trump. Can you talk to me a little bit about how you sort of use that rationalization and that sort of intellectual style to help you sort of influence others? Well, I mean, I am a former CIA officer. [ LAUGH ] And I think sometimes it's temperament. When things are dramatic around me, I tend to go real calm. And so that was sort of my experience in those. We did three back to back town halls. And people were very upset and so. And the other thing is I know this is going to sound really cheesy but you have to have love in your heart for all people. And after you have to reach out to people. [ APPLAUSE ] And you know, I might not convince that person to see things the way, I see things. But that person will walk away saying: she listened to me, she heard me out, we had an honest debate, it was civil and decent and at least we're doing what our forefathers asked us to do as a country. And that's as much as I can ask when we have legitimate disagreements. Beautiful, wow. [ APPLAUSE ] Question up here? [ BLANK_AUDIO ] All right so we were having a discusion at dinner last night about how for a lot us who we grew up It was kind of like the senate were the grownups. They were a little more bipartisan and the house was little more rogue. And it feels like right now that sort of the reverse. I mean, I was reading the other day to your point about bipartisanship, about all these bills that are this stuff, that 80 % of Americans agree on. that the house is passed and apparently the Senate will look at what's going on for those of us who are not as it did. And is there any hope for this improving? Well, I will tell a funny story about getting our makeup touch ups on the way in. I got here early and I was seated in the makeup chair. And they said senator mix Sally's coming you might have to get out of makeup chair and I said it's okay. I know she's a senator but she was also my classmate elected to the House. So I say that because the senate you know, they do have this sense of, you know, they try to slow down the process but as a house member, what frustrates me. Is that we often pass very bipartisan sometimes unanimous bills and they go nowhere in the Senate and the senate stays very focused on their procedures. And, you know, I understand when I listened to senators that you know they want to be thoughtful and you know you hear the story about the saucer and the teacup, about how the saucer is the Senate and the teacup, this is what George Washington used to say, the teacup is the House and when the coffee spills over the Senate picks it up. I don't buy that as a House member I think [ COUGH ] I said it needs to move bipartisan bills, particularly when they pass on suspension and are unanimous. But I joke with my former colleagues like Martha, who is wonderful, how quickly they forget what it's like to be in the house where you're constantly working, the pace is so fast. So I do think the Senate needs to act on a number of bills that have passed significantly. And I think the longer you're in Congress, the more frustrated you get as a house member with the Senate's procedural mechanisms. You have thoughts as a first termer. No I agree. I didn't know I'm embarrassed to say I didn't know the saucer in the tea cup. Yeah that's the George Washington I mean, senators will often use that analogy. [ UNKNOWN ] Hold on, We have a we have a question back here. Mm hm Hi ladies. Thank you so much for your comments. I'll direct it to both of you. Can you talk about whether Congress is a good utilizer of your skills and prior experience, in terms of the committees they're putting you on and what legislation you're getting drawn into. I'd love for you, I meant to ask you to do this. Tell the group what committees each of you are on. Sure, so actually Elisa is my subcommittee chair. We're both on the Armed Services Committee, and I'm on the Homeland Security Committee. And so given my background, I felt like I was put on committees that made sense. I do think that there is an increasing number of people with a national security background on both sides of the aisle and that is a good, good thing. As someone who was a the Pentagon, it's important that the check and balance on the Pentagon be people who really understand this stuff I will say that one of the things that I think people with a national security background bring to these jobs that is more new for some people is a sense of mission. In the work that we were doing before we came into Congress, you would sit around a table and they would often be vociferous debate about issues. But at the end of the day it was about getting the mission done, whatever that was at the pentagon or the White House and you moved out ones a decision was made. And there wasn't room for ground standing and for people kind of self agrandizing. Well that's a little different in the house. Yeah I think its important to have members of Congress who bring that mission focus because It creates a culture where it's just not as okay to be kind of the peacock in the room for all of our other friends. And so it's a great thing that Elise and I share, particularly on the Armed Services Committee. I feel the same way. I'm on the Armed Services Committee. As she mentioned, I'm also on the House Intelligence Committee and then education and workforce. Those committees are critically important but they're also a great fit for my district. I represent the tenth mountain division, the most deployed unit in the US Army. So when we're discussing national security issues, that has an impact on tens of thousands of families that I represent. And on the domestic side, being on the education and workforce committee really allows me to engage in discussions. What does workforce development look like? How do we make sure that kids are college and work prepared going in this century? When it comes to do I feel that the institution is welcoming for our skill sets. I've had to really knock down some barriers in my own party to talk about the importance of. Electing women. I'm a Republican, and it's no news that we are at a historic low of the number of women that are in the house. And I've had to literally 18 verses 23 in the last Congress, right? [ UNKNOWN ] Republican women. Right, but overall, if you look at Congress, there are more women that have ever than I've ever served before. That's good for the country, but I believe strongly that. We will be a more functioning Congress when we have women in both parties, more women in both parties. So I've had to really kind of challenge the status quo in terms of ringing that alarm bell. And I'm really excited to see a number of women who are stepping up to run in my own party. So that's the only kind of Critique I would make because not everybody supported my effort. Now they're supporting it because, you know, there's positive news coverage about it, but well, I'm happy to have them follow my leadership, but I think it is good for the country and women tend to be more bipartisan policymakers. Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, congresswoman Elissa Slotkin Thank you for your service. Thanks Cathy. And thanks for being here. Thank you. [ APPLAUSE ] Thank you. [ BLANK_AUDIO ]

Most Powerful Women Summit 2019: Leading Together From Across the Aisle

Politics

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) join the MPW Summit.