Making a bipartisan commitment to respect this year’s election results

At the start of every Congress, members of the House of Representatives gather in the House chamber and, in unison, are sworn in for two-year terms. We all swear that we will “support and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

It is a rare moment of unity in a body that often breaks down along party lines. But the reason we can engage in those fiery debates about how to govern is that we have all agreed at the outset to operate by the same set of rules in service to the Constitution and the American people.