The Good Congress Podcast – BPC Staff

 

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Building Bridges Across the Aisle: Inside the American Congressional Exchange Program

In this episode of The Good Congress, host Brad Fitch sits down with two guests from the Bipartisan Policy Center to explore how face-to-face relationships can help heal partisan divides in Washington.

John Richter, former Director of the BPC’s Governing and Civics Project and former Senate Chief of Staff to Senator Olympia Snowe, and Matt Weil, BPC’s Vice President for Democracy and Bipartisanship, discuss the American Congressional Exchange Program — an initiative that pairs members of Congress from opposite parties and sends them to visit each other’s home districts.

Topics covered include:

  • How the exchange program works, from pairing members to on-the-ground district visits to follow-up collaboration back in DC
  • Why getting lawmakers outside the Beltway helps build genuine trust
  • How these trips create opportunities for bipartisan legislative wins
  • The broader mission of the Bipartisan Policy Center in strengthening Congress as an institution
 

Whether you follow policy closely, care about civics, or simply wonder if bipartisanship is still possible, this episode offers an encouraging, inside look at how relationships, as much as policy itself, can help move Washington forward.

Produced by the Sunwater Institute