Washington Business Winter 2020 | Washington Business | Page 34

federal focus
“Too often in Congress, we get stuck in
our political corners, but we must find
ways to come together around common
goals, common decency, and a common
love of our country.”
U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers
found that 87 percent of Americans believe “compromise
and common ground should be the goal of political
leaders.”
McMorris Rodgers, a Republican from Washington’s
5th District, hosted Maryland Democrat David Trone,
to a two-day trip in early October with stops at Eastern
Washington University, manufacturing sites and Greater
Spokane Inc. In a joint press release, the two emphasized
the importance of bipartisanship.
“I came to Congress to get things done,” says Trone,
“and the best way to do that is by Democrats and
Republicans working together.”
McMorris Rodgers says, “Too often in Congress, we get
stuck in our political corners, but we must find ways to
come together around common goals, common decency,
and a common love of our country so we can get results
for the people we represent. That starts with building
relationships.”
As this is being written, plans were being made for
an exchange between Newhouse and Pete Aguilar, a
Democrat from California.
While each of the ACE pairings meets the program’s
goal of bringing together members from districts
“geographically, culturally, and politically” removed
from each other, it’s sometimes not necessary to travel
far from home to realize the same benefits. At AWB’s
Federal Affairs Summit, AWB President Kris Johnson
spoke with Newhouse and Kilmer about bipartisanship.
Johnson noted that the two representatives had their
own exchange last summer, touring the districts, hearing
about the communities and the economies.
incremental change
Nationally, the ACE effort began by identifying about 150
House members who had demonstrated an interest in
bipartisanship, Perman says. After talking with some 35
of them, ACE was launched, with its first trip being taken
in January 2018. Six more followed that year, with twice
as many in 2019. During the exchanges members often
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