{"id":3914,"date":"2026-04-27T11:34:29","modified":"2026-04-27T11:35:52","slug":"icymi-u-s-senators-john-fetterman-and-katie-britt-talk-friendship-mental-health-and-social-media-on-bipartisan-nbc-show","link":"https:\/\/www.fetterman.senate.gov\/icymi-u-s-senators-john-fetterman-and-katie-britt-talk-friendship-mental-health-and-social-media-on-bipartisan-nbc-show\/","title":{"rendered":"ICYMI: U.S. Senators John Fetterman and Katie Britt Talk Friendship, Mental Health, and Social Media on Bipartisan NBC Show"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Watch the full interview <\/span><\/i>here<\/span><\/i><\/a>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

WASHINGTON, D.C. <\/strong>\u2014 Last week, U.S. Senators John Fetterman (D-PA) and Katie Britt (R-AL) joined Kristen Welker on NBC\u2019s Common Ground Live, a live show bringing together leaders with different perspectives who work across the aisle, and engage in discourse on bipartisan policy issues. The senators discussed mental health, their joint social media safety bill, families, and political futures.<\/p>\n\n

See highlights below and watch the full interview <\/strong>here<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\u2013<\/p>\n\n

Welker:<\/strong> Senator Fetterman, what did it mean to you that Senator Britt came to visit you [in the hospital]?<\/p>\n\n

Sen. Fetterman:<\/strong> It meant the world, and my advice is: it makes it virtually impossible to be cruel or unkind to someone if you at least have a relationship or at least know that person. You know, I think it\u2019s a good rule that you don\u2019t say anything on social media about someone that you wouldn\u2019t say to someone in person. And social media especially has made that kind of cruelty or those kinds of comments just a throwaway and easy because it\u2019s not really connected.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

\u2013<\/p>\n\n

Welker<\/strong>: You co-authored bi-partisan bills, the Stop the Scroll Act<\/em> and the Kids Off Social Media Act<\/em>. Senator Britt, tell me about these bills, why are they important, why are you teaming up on them?<\/p>\n\n

Sen. Britt:<\/strong> I think if you look at these, John and I approach this along with a number of our colleagues, not as Democrats and Republicans, but as concerned parents. We see what\u2019s happening across our country when it comes to mental health and we know the impact it\u2019s having on our youth. (…) John and I thought, what are some simple things we can do to help warn people, warn parents, about those negative effects? So the Stop the Scroll Act, which John got marked up in the Commerce Committee just last week\u2013we were really excited about that. That\u2019s a big step and pathway forward.<\/p>\n\n

Sen. Fetterman:<\/strong> One of the best things I\u2019ve done is completely unplugged. I produce my messaging but I don\u2019t sit around and scroll, and when I made the mistake to do that after I won my election, that\u2019s when things really got bad and the depression set in. We did this together not just as senators, but also as parents because we have young children too. And if we want it for ourselves, then it\u2019s the appropriate tool for America\u2019s parents.<\/p>\n\n

\u2013<\/p>\n\n

Welker: <\/strong>Senator Fetterman, you have voted against several Democratic efforts to limit President Trump\u2019s war powers in Iran. You\u2019ve said you don\u2019t want to put limits\u2014tie his hands\u2014when he\u2019s in the middle of waging this conflict. As you both know, a key deadline is coming up. We\u2019re bumping up against 60 days, May 1st, since the start of the war. Will you vote to keep U.S. forces engaged in this conflict once it hits that 60-day mark whereby Congress by law does need to weigh in?<\/p>\n\n

Sen. Fetterman:<\/strong> I will, I will continue my vote. My vote\u2019s not going to change. I know it\u2019s perhaps the most toxic thing a Democrat can embrace, I\u2019ve seen the numbers, the AP poll said that 4% of Democrats support that. (…) For me, it\u2019s not controversial as a Democrat. When you ask every single member of Congress, should we allow Iran to acquire a nuclear bomb? Not a single Democrat in Congress says yes. Absolutely not. So here we are. You don\u2019t have to agree with every element of Epic Fury, but if we all agree that we could never allow them to acquire a nuclear bomb, I don\u2019t know why we wouldn\u2019t want to empower the president to make sure they can\u2019t become a nuclear power.<\/p>\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false}}