The Hill News

Nearly 30 senators and more than a dozen members of Congress have signed on to a letter pledging to mix seating at the State of the Union.

The letter, written by Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska.) last week, proposes that at the annual State of the Union address Republicans and Democrats sit together, instead of the traditional divided seating according to party. The idea is to "rekindle that common spark that brought us here from 50 different states and widely diverging backgrounds to serve the public good," according to the letter.

In total, 43 legislators have said signed the letter and plan on sitting together including 22 Democratic senators, 6 Republican senators, 13 House Democrats and two House Republicans.

The centrist political group No Labels also endorsed Udall and Murkowski's proposal today. During the State of the Union No Labels will feature a "unity meter" on its website to keep track of how fr! equently legislators clap together.

Other members of Congress have voiced support for the new seating arrangement but have not signed the letter including House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and today, Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) which he announced today.

"Sitting in a unified fashion at the State of the Union Address will not diminish the important differences our parties have on issues of substance, but it may well be a step in changing the tone of the debate,” said Johanns in a press release today. “I welcome the opportunity to take this step toward greater civility.”

The bipartisan seating proposal comes after the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) and 18 others. Some have blamed the shooting on an extremely angry and partisan atmosphere in Washington politics.

The State of the Union is scheduled for January 25th. 

--This post was updated at 6:13 p.m.