An Update on the American Congressional Exchange (ACE) Initiative that Square One Provided Seed Money for 2017-19

We just came back from our 33rd ACE trip last week -- this one in Orlando, featuring Tony Gonzales (R-TX-23), a moderate freshman on the powerful Appropriations Committee who represents the largest district in the U.S. that is not a single state. He visited Darren Soto, a moderate 3rd termer serving on the Energy & Commerce Committee. Over the course of the day in FL-9, Reps. Soto and Gonzales built close connections and learned much about the leading ecosystems of manufacturing, agriculture, transportation, and technology in Central Florida. Among the stops were: a citrus packing facility, a ride on the SunRail commuter train, a helicopter excursion with the South FL Water Management District to look at the headwaters of the Everglades and restoration projects, a community college advanced manufacturing training center, a new semiconductor plant, the Lake Nona V.A. Hospital, and the construction site of Orlando Airport's new terminal -- and that's all in one day!

Our continuing ambition at the Bipartisan Policy Center is not to ignore the discord, but to help our leaders competently govern a divided country. That’s why we launched the American Congressional Exchange (ACE), which gives members of Congress the opportunity to spend real time together in each other’s districts and, as ACE participant Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-WA-6) has said, “to understand where someone is coming from... by actually seeing where they are from”.

Despite the political divide, the excitement and interest in the American Congressional Exchange couldn't be higher. To date, we have completed 33 trips among 42 House members, spanning the political spectrum from Progressives to the Freedom Caucus. In fact, nearly 80% of our participants are from outside the political middle. Of course, the numbers would be higher but for a little thing called COVID-19 that slowed but did not stop our growth. In 2022, we already have nine Exchange trips committed including two we have completed.

In addition, while we have always received strong local and regional coverage on the trips (see Grand Rapids), ACE is now capturing national media attention and winning plaudits: ABC Good Morning America in MN and a column from noted conservative Cal Thomas that ran nationwide in January. There are more great videos, photos, and stories here. In March, we were invited to present ACE at the South By Southwest festival in Austin, where we brought three of our ACE alums to participate on a panel.

ACE has also become one of the premier programs for BPC and has been fully integrated with their policy staff who work to try (and have) to bring about bipartisan legislative actions, based on the new relationships that have been fostered on the trips. My team at BPC has grown so that we now have 4 FTEs working on the project. And, my working relationship with the BPC staff and leadership couldn't be better. For me, it has been an odyssey of America, as I have staffed most of the trips, and seen and experienced some of the most remarkable and inspiring places, people, and conversations in this great country.

On the development front, ACE is often "front" and center and we have been the fortunate recipients of foundation, corporate, and individual giving. Most notably, BPC was proud to announce early this year that MacKenzie Scott's philanthropies have awarded $11M to BPC over three years. This transformative gift will allow BPC to scale its work on bipartisanship and saving democracy, and ACE will benefit from some of these funds.

Yes, we have come a long way since my first meetings with you in 2017. I will always be eternally grateful for the confidence and trust you placed in my idea and your generous early support.

Jonathan Perman
Managing Director, The Perman Group
Founder and Co-Director, American Congressional Exchange at the Bipartisan Policy Center
Senior Advisor, Government Affairs, Jasculca Terman Strategic Communications