Mr. Perman is co-director of The Bipartisan Policy Center’s American Congressional Exchange. Founded in 2018, the stated purpose of the nonprofit organization is to assign individual members of Congress who might not know each other well, or at all, to visit one another’s districts, hoping they will discover some shared interests. It sounds like a type of student exchange program for grown-ups, though it appears students get along with each other better than elected officials.

What difference do these new relationships bring to policies? Mr. Perman tells me, “They are smaller things. We are not going to brag that we have solved Social Security. This is incremental.”

View Comments (1)

Rep. Jack Bergman, Michigan Republican, who last year visited the district of Rep. Stephanie Murphy, Florida Democrat. Five weeks after they traveled together (Mr. Perman says they had only met once before), they co-sponsored a bill to help members of the military transition to civilian life. Both said that they might not ever have gotten together without the trip sponsored by ACE. Ms. Murphy subsequently visited Mr. Bergman’s district.

Rep. David McKinley, West Virginia Republican, and Rep. Paul Tonko, New York Democrat, are on the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Mr. Perman says Mr. Tonko had never been to West Virginia. In May, they spent two days visiting sites where Mr. Tonko met mine workers. In August, Mr. McKinley traveled to Albany and visited a hydrogen production site. Mr. Perman says Mr. McKinley understands there will be a transition from fossil fuels but wants to protect his people. They co-sponsored a bill to advance clean hydrogen deployment.

Mr. Perman says ACE pays for the visiting member and the House Ethics Committee approves the trips. He says more than 30 trips have been taken so far. These “dignify differences,” he says of issues that are not resolved. “There is nothing wrong with differences, but this program gives members an opportunity to see parts of the country they know nothing about.”

One of the major problems is that in too many instances, some members who seek to cooperate with their opposites are told by leadership not to. From the perspective of many conservatives, compromise means Republicans must give far more than they get.

It’s easy to be cynical about such things as members of Congress must appeal to their respective constituencies. It is difficult for a Democrat and Republican to be seen dining together in Washington — even should they wish to — lest someone take a picture and use it against one or the other in the next campaign for consorting with “the enemy.” However, any effort to create peace and goodwill should be encouraged, not dismissed out of hand. Peace on Earth was what the angels cried out when the Prince of Peace was born. Congress and the rest of us would do well to listen to their voices.

Will you pray for these efforts and for the leaders in Congress who are pressured to see members of other parties as ‘enemies’?

(Excerpt from The Washington Times. Photo Credit: Getty Images)