Polarization in Congress is nothing new. Scott Cooper argues that veterans may be part of the answer.
Cooper is a retired Marine who leads policy at With Honor. He joined me on the latest episode of Security Clearance Insecurity on Federal News Network. With Honor was founded in 2017 and began as an effort to elect more military veterans to Congress. In the 1970s, veterans held about three-quarters of the seats. Today they hold about 18 percent.
Once elected, members take an oath of civility, integrity, courage, and cross-partisanship, and they join the For Country Caucus. That bipartisan group now includes more than 50 House and Senate members. Cooper calls them “radical moderates” and “workhorses, not show horses.” The caucus helped pass the Russia Sanctions Act, and members like Don Bacon and Salud Carbajal travel to Ukraine together.
Cooper sees security clearance reform as one of the most bipartisan issues on the Hill. Intelligence committee leaders on both sides have made it a priority. The presidency sets clearance policy by executive order, but Congress still has real influence over it through the NDAA and the Intelligence Authorization Act.
For professionals who want to work in policy, With Honor offers a 13-month congressional fellowship for mid-career applicants. Veterans and military spouses get preference, but anyone can apply. Hill experience is hard to get mid-career, and it’s often expected for senior government relations roles.
Cooper ended with a story about a Winslow Homer painting, The Veteran in a New Field. It shows a Union soldier back from the Civil War, working in a wheat field. Cooper’s point was that service doesn’t end when the uniform comes off. In his words, “There’s work to be done.”
