Washington Business Winter 2020 | Washington Business | Page 35

federal focus
develop legislative ideas they want to work on
together; Bipartisan Policy Center staff is available
to work with them on their efforts. Perman admits
it’s an incremental approach to trying to fix the
operations of Congress. “No illusions,” he said, “but
you’ve got to start somewhere.”
The poet Burns longed for the gift to see ourselves
as others see us. Perhaps a good beginning is to
see others as they see themselves, to understand
the conditions and experiences that shape their
values and priorities. To that end, the American
Congressional Exchange — and the willingness of
members of our state’s Congressional delegation to
reach across the aisle — represents needed progress
in a polarizing era.
“When I heard about these exchanges,
I was like, ‘We should do this.’”
U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer
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