Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the Problem Solvers Caucus Co-Chairs Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01) and Tom Suozzi (NY-03) announced four bipartisan bills aimed at establishing clearer and more consistent rules for congressional redistricting across the country.

The legislation is the result of months of work by the Caucus’ bipartisan Gerrymandering Working Group, led by Reps. Jeff Hurd (R-CO-03) and Ed Case (D-HI-01). The Caucus previously released its Gerrymandering Reform Framework outlining four areas for congressional action: banning mid-decade redistricting, establishing nationwide standards for drawing congressional districts, reducing partisan influence in the map-drawing process, and creating a consistent federal process for resolving redistricting challenges.

Today, members of the Caucus formally unveiled legislation to put those principles into practice:

H.R. 10378 - Problem Solvers Transparent Redistricting Under Stable Timelines (TRUST) Act

The legislation, led by Reps. Ed Case and Jeff Hurd, would prohibit states from redrawing congressional districts more than once following each decennial Census. The bill is intended to establish a consistent national rule and prevent states from repeatedly redrawing congressional maps between censuses for partisan gain.

H.R. 10379 - Problem Solvers Map-drawing Accountability and Principled Standards (MAPS) Act 

The legislation, led by Reps. Mike Lawler and Salud Carbajal, would establish clear and consistent criteria for drawing congressional districts nationwide. Maps would be required to comply with standards including equal population, contiguity, compactness, respect for existing political boundaries such as counties, municipalities, cities, and prohibits drawing maps to favor any particular party, candidate, and/or incumbent. 

H.R. 10380 - Problem Solvers Independent Commissions Act

The legislation, led by Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick and Debbie Dingell, would require congressional districts to be drawn through independent citizen redistricting commissions designed to reduce direct partisan influence from politicians over the map-drawing process and establish a more transparent process for developing congressional maps.

H.R. 10381 - PSC Nonpartisan Congressional Oversight and Uniformity of Redistricting Trials (COURTS) Act

The legislation, led by Reps. Ryan Mackenzie and Ed Case, would establish a uniform federal process for legal challenges involving congressional redistricting, including consistent jurisdiction and venue requirements for cases challenging congressional maps.

"Censuses happen once every ten years. Drawing districts should follow the exact same principle. Voters should know what district they are living in, who represents them, and what the rules of the election are without wondering what the district boundaries look like at the next election. It is wrong for politicians to draw boundaries for districts halfway through the decade," said Congressman Jeff Hurd (CO-03). "This surge of mid-decade redistricting is relatively new, and it is something that we need to stop. It is not healthy for our country or political system. That is why Congressman Case and I introduced the Problem Solvers TRUST Act to end mid-decade redistricting and establish a clear, nationwide rule that maps are drawn once a decade following census. Redistricting should be about representing changes in our population and our communities, not about finding a political advantage before the next election".

"We all know instinctively that gerrymandering is destructive, divisive, and corrosive to our democracy. We all know that some of the results of excessive gerrymandering are division, polarization, extremism, and lack of confidence in our electorate," said Congressman Ed Case (HI-01). "In this particular bill, the Problem Solvers TRUST Act, we are trying to get after when we draw maps. We take it for granted for decades that we do redistricting every ten years, and yet we are in a redistricting war that if not curbed, will cause us to enter into an endless cycle of redistricting."

“Gerrymandering is bad for America,” said Problem Solvers Caucus Co-Chair Congressman Tom Suozzi (NY-03). “It weakens the will of the voters, erodes public trust, and creates safe seats that reward extremism and disincentivize thoughtful, bipartisan collaboration. I’m proud our caucus is leading on this framework to take politics out of redistricting and restore confidence in a system where voters choose their representatives, not the other way around.”

"George Washington, the father of our country, in his farewell address of 1796...says that these factions are going to lead to the destruction of this country. He said the whole premise behind our Constitution was internal unity united against a common external enemy. What he worried the factions were going to result in was internal discord that's capitalized by our external enemies. It is very important we heed those warnings,” said Problem Solvers Caucus Co-Chair Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01)."This [gerrymandering] is a problem that both parties are guilty of. It's a power issue, not a party issue. Every party that has the opportunity to do it has capitalized on it and there needs to be a group of individuals and patriotic Americans that say no more because everybody agrees, even the people that do it by the way, that it is corrosive to democracy, but they are justifying this as this tit-for-tat, meanwhile, the American people suffer”.

"This Problem Solvers MAPS Act is really about putting some commonsense guardrails around the redistricting process. When mapmakers do not have clear standards to follow, it becomes much easier for politics to take over," said Congressman Salud Carbajal (CA-24). "Every state is different and no two congressional districts are going to look exactly alike, but the basic rules should be fair and consistent, no matter where you live across the country. That is what the Problem Solvers MAPS Act is trying to do: give states clear rules to follow and give voters more confidence that their districts were drawn for the right reasons.

“Congressional districts should be drawn around communities, not political interests,” said Congressman Mike Lawler (NY-17). “The Problem Solvers MAPS Act establishes clear, commonsense standards to stop partisan gerrymandering and ensure districts are fairly drawn without favoring any one candidate or party. Politicians in states like New York and Texas should not be able to choose their elected representatives - under a democracy, that power is reserved for the people. I’m proud to work with Rep. Carbajal and our colleagues in the Problem Solvers Caucus to advance a bipartisan approach that puts voters first."

"If we actually want to have pragmatic solutions that resolve problems for people, we need to come together in a bipartisan fashion and that is what we did here in the Gerrymandering Reform Task Force,” said Congressman Ryan Mackenzie (PA-07). "The American people deserve confidence that our elections are conducted on an even playing field and that our congressional districts are drawn to represent communities, not to benefit individuals and their parties. When disputes arise, federal courts step in. The jurisdiction would be the federal court level for congressional redistricting challenges, so that clear and consistent processes for resolving those disputes are in place. This is not about deciding which side is going to win a redistricting case, it is about making sure the same basic rules apply no matter where the case is brought or which political party drew the map."

“This bipartisan bill is about ensuring that in a democracy voters should choose their representatives, and not the other way around,” said Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (MI-06). “After the next census in 2030, we must restore redistricting to what it was always meant to be: a process for the people and by the people — not a political weapon used to rig outcomes before a single vote is cast. And it should be a process that happens once every ten years. Michigan has shown that independent citizen-led redistricting can put fairness, transparency, and voters ahead of politicians. This cycle has shown how easily redistricting can be manipulated for partisan gain when politicians put power ahead of the public’s trust.”