Udall: End Partisan Seating At Address
DENVER (AP) -- Sen. Mark Udall is again urging Congress to set aside their differences during the State of the Union address and sit side-by-side with members of the opposite party during the speech.
Udall says making bipartisan seating permanent would make the president's annual speech "more than just a run-of-the-mill sporting event."
Democrat Udall of Colorado and Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska pushed for bipartisan seating last year after the shooting of Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.
Udall and Murkowski, in a letter to congressional leaders, said there's an obligation to show there's a place for civility in Congress and that civility can lead to problem solving.
Udall says the idea resonated last year and changed the tone in Congress for at least one day.
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