“As we look at the big picture, are we looking at the whole body of work, or the whim of the moment?” Rep. John Curtis said, regarding the current era of political discourse, while speaking at Sutherland Institute’s Congressional Series event hosted at Utah Valley University.

Curtis expressed concern about the state of American political debate and federal dysfunction, and the fact that when bipartisanship does occur it’s often ignored.

“When’s the last time you heard about a bill that passed in an overwhelming bipartisan majority?” he said, speaking to a room of students and community leaders. “It happens all the time, but it doesn’t make the news.”

The representative said that some members of Congress are rewarded for “viral moments” and using their public stature to gain TV time to bolster fundraising dollars rather than working for the people. He gave some advice to voters, suggesting that Americans should work to avoid the hot takes and political noise of the day – instead holding their representatives accountable on actual policy progress.

He provided Utahns with a call to action, saying that when it comes to policy debates, we need to start asking members of Congress, “What have you done” (to fix the problem)?

“Voters need to decide what they want out of our leaders,” the congressman continued. “From my perspective, I see a clear choice: Someone that tells you what you want to hear, or someone that digs in and does the work that you want done.”

The congressman encouraged voters to look in the mirror and ask themselves, “Am I starting a chain of goodness, or am I precipitating what we’re hearing from people that we don’t like?” when it comes to solving the division.

Curtis emphasized that America has confronted this level of division before, as he ended on a vision of hope for Americans to build on.

“I can see the country has had some dark moments, but we have emerged from every one of those better than we started.”

For more information about the annual Sutherland Congressional Series, click here.