Closing the political divide

Years ago, Congressmen spent most of the year in Washington. They got to know each other socially, and even knew each other's spouses and children. But today they must spend vast amounts of time raising money, so they return to their home districts almost every weekend and only see their fellow legislators "at work." To remedy this, the American Congressional Exchange flies members of Congress from across the political spectrum to the districts of opposing party members, where they spend 48 hours learning about each other's personal lives and their communities.

The effort started in 2016, and hopes to bring bipartisanship back to Capitol Hill. The founder, Jonathan Perman, was uncertain if lawmakers would actually participate, but he's been pleasantly surprised by their reactions.