Former NFL Players Bring Teamwork, Seek Bipartisan Cooperation In Congress

A pair of former NFL players from opposite sides of the political spectrum are working together to make an impact on big issues including veterans’ affairs, Pell Grants and job creation.

Sound ambitious? They also happen to be members of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Rep. Anthony Gonzalez (R-Ohio) says he and Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas), both former NFL players, have a bipartisan goal to "lower the temperature" in Congress and work together on issues where they agree – and to disagree without being disagreeable.

“Congressman Gonzalez and I know what it’s like to play on a team and work together to accomplish big things,” Allred said. “Understanding each other’s districts and the people we represent is so critical to forging bipartisan relationships and getting things done for the American people.”

Part of that cooperation includes getting to know each other’s constituents better with a “district exchange” for the freshmen congressmen. This week, Allred was in Northeast Ohio. The pair toured a Strongsville manufacturing business, got a taste of a local restaurant and brewery, and hosted a joint town hall at Wadsworth City Council Chambers. They also attended the NFL Hall of Fame game in Canton.

Gonzalez will visit Allred's north Texas district later this year .

Developing relationships is key in passing bills, Allred says, and he and Gonzalez got started co-sponsoring a bill that would allow students to use federal Pell Grants, which do not have to be repaid, to get certification training, not just for four-year colleges.

"In both of our districts we know that a lot of our businesses don't have the skilled labor force that they need and they've been telling us that," Allred said. "We want to drive as many people as possible into skills training to try and meet that need.”

During this week’s Ohio visit, Allred and Gonzalez spoke with veterans about the new Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act, which extends disability benefits covering medical conditions from Agent Orange exposure to those who served on ships off the coast of Vietnam, known as “blue water” vets.

"As we found out, it isn't being implemented as well as maybe we intended," Gonzalez said. "That's one where we've said, 'Hey, we can work on that together.' He and I feel exactly the same about that.”

Both are concerned about the waves the Trump administration has been making in international trade and both want to see the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), an overhaul of the trade deal formerly known as NAFTA, passed into law.

Reacting to President Trump's Thursday tweet announcing another 10 percent tariff on $300 billion in Chinese imports starting Sept. 1, Gonzalez says passing the USMCA trade deal will lead to more cooperation.

"Independent sources, not me saying this, suggest that it'll raise GDP by over a quarter of a percent," Gonzalez said. "It'll raise manufacturing, it'll raise agriculture and transportation and those are critical industries in Ohio's 16th [District]. They're essentially the lifeblood of our economy."

Allred agreed that the USMCA should pass but questioned President Trump's tactics.

"I'm not a big fan of trade wars and tariffs, and I also think it's a dangerous way to conduct trade policy, you know, by tweet and kind of threats and things like that," Allred said.

Though Allred’s district is not on the U.S. southern border, his grandfather was a customs officer in Brownsville, Texas, after World War II, and he’s heard about immigration and border issues all his life. Mexico is Texas' number one trade partner by far, says Allred, who is also a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

"There has to be a comprehensive approach that, number one, secures the border, because we do need to make sure we do that," Allred said. "But number two, provides the people who are here with a pathway to citizenship if they work hard, pay taxes, do the right things and that we address what has caused so many people to come here from their home countries."

Gonzalez recently visited the southern border and said a border agent explained how drug cartels use diversionary tactics to smuggle more immigrants into the country.

"He said 100 percent of the illegal crossings are controlled by the cartels," Gonzalez said. "One hundred percent. They sort of said, 'Hey, look, they have two businesses: they have the immigration business, which makes them a certain amount of money, and they have the drug business'."

Though he is a Democrat, Allred’s home state of Texas is predominantly Republican and he says President Trump does not reflect the Republican Party he knew and grew up with there.

"Leadership matters on these issues, and we need to have leaders in place who appeal to our better angels, who try to talk about things we share in common across racial lines," Allred said. "Some of the race-based attacks that have come from this president I think are making it much harder for us to move forward as a country, and it's dragging us back to some places we don't want to go to."

Allred and Gonzalez may sit on different sides of the aisle in the Capitol but both made the point while in Ohio that the gridiron is a model for putting superficial and background issues aside to work toward a common goal.