What the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives need are more people like Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va.

At a town hall meeting in Bedford over the weekend, Warner, the former Virginia governor, made it clear that bipartisanship is the key to resolving the gridlock that is suffocating Congress. Any such bipartisanship, he said, would put the best interests on the nation and its people ahead of the partisan demands of Republicans and Democrats.

He called the federal debt and deficit “the biggest issue our nation faces” and said that just a little bipartisanship is needed to fix it. A slight increase in taxes, for example, on those earning more than $250,000 annually would increase revenues and help reduce the out-of-control federal debt. But Republicans in the House and Senate won’t even consider such a measure because they are opposed to any tax increase.

Warner also alluded to Democrats who have been equally adamant about not cutting spending for a variety of programs, another move that would help reduce the debt.

Referring to the $16 trillion debt currently facing Washington, Warner said that for each day that passes without Congress acting to either increase revenues or reduce spending, another $4 billion is added to that debt.

“We can’t keep kicking the can down the road,” he told the gathering of about 50 at Liberty Station restaurant. “I say this as a Democrat, but anybody who thinks it is going to be a Democrat-only solution or a Republican-only solution is just plain wacky … we’ve got to stop being Democrats and Republicans and start being Americans first.”

The debt crisis won’t be fixed overnight, Warner said, or “just by taxing rich people a little bit more.” He said it would take “some real changes” in government spending. He made it clear that more revenues are also needed to help resolve the debt problem.

Additional revenues could be achieved through the generation of more jobs. But Warner pointed out that just last week, Senate Republicans managed to block a bill designed to return jobs to America from overseas. It would have given new tax breaks to companies that “insource” jobs in America and eliminate tax deductions that move jobs overseas.

So the measure would have encouraged businesses to return overseas jobs and operations to the United States resulting in more jobs in the U.S. What could possibly be wrong with that approach to rebuilding the U.S. economy? Senate Republicans blocked the measure by not allowing it to reach the 60 votes needed to end their filibuster. Dysfunctional? You decide.

Replying to a question about whether he thought the Senate and the House could set their partisan interests aside for the common good of the country, Warner said a “trust level” needs to be built between the warring factions. He said he had some experience with that, referring to his efforts as governor working with a tax-averse Republican majority in the House of Delegates a decade ago.

“I am working my tail off to find common ground,” he said, adding that a “fiscal cliff” looms if the parties don’t come together to address the debt issue.

The senator is right. It will take both parties working together to make lasting changes. The sooner that realization dawns on the leadership in Congress, the better it will be for the country.