Bipartisan Policy Center

Abbreviation BPC
Formation 2007 (2007)
Type Public policy think tank
Headquarters Washington, D.C., United States
President
 Jason Grumet
Revenue (2016)
$19,832,867[1]
Expenses (2016) $22,901,624[1]
Website bipartisanpolicy.org

The Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) is a Washington, D.C.–based think tank that actively promotes bipartisanship. The organization combines the best ideas from both the Republican and Democratic parties to address the nation's key challenges. BPC focuses on a range of issues including health, energy, national security, the economy, housing, immigration, infrastructure, governance, and education.

The organization's roots trace back to 2002, when the National Commission on Energy Policy (NCEP), predecessor to BPC's current Energy Project, was founded. [2]

BPC was founded in 2007 by former Senate Majority Leaders Howard Baker, Tom Daschle, Bob Dole, and George J. Mitchell. The founding and current president is Jason Grumet. [3]

History

While BPC was formally launched in March 2007, the organization's roots trace back to 2002, when the National Commission on Energy Policy (NCEP), predecessor to BPC's current Energy Project, was founded.[4]

On June 17, 2009, BPC's Leaders Project on the State of American Health Care released a report, Crossing Our Lines: Working Together to Reform the U.S. Health System.[5] The report, which came at the height of the health care reform debate in the United States, laid out plans to help states establish insurance exchanges and lower costs. Former Senate Majority Leaders and BPC Co-Founders Howard Baker, Tom Daschle, and Bob Dole crafted the report.[6]

On November 17, 2010, BPC's "Debt Reduction Task Force" released its report, Restoring America's Future, in an effort to influence the debate over the national debt.[7] The Task Force, led by former Senate Budget Committee Chairman Pete Domenici and former White House Budget Director and Federal Reserve Vice Chair Alice Rivlin, was a bipartisan group of former White House and Cabinet officials, Senate and House members, governors and mayors, and business and labor leaders.[8] Their report was released two weeks prior to that of President Obama's National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform.

On May 23, 2011, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer called for a balanced approach to deficit reduction in a speech at BPC. Hoyer said that both the White House's National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform and BPC's Debt Reduction Task Force "place a high priority on fairness, and strike a...more even balance between cutting spending and raising revenue."[9]

On October 26, 2011, BPC launched the Housing Commission, a bipartisan effort led by Kit Bond, Henry Cisneros, Mel Martinez, and George J. Mitchell. The Commission released its final recommendations to reform the nation's housing policy in 2013,[10] which included views on the most effective role of the federal government in helping to shape the nation's future housing landscape.

On March 21, 2012, BPC hosted "A Century of Service" at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C. The event was a tribute to BPC founders and former Senate Majority Leaders Howard Baker and Bob Dole. Speakers included Vice President Joe Biden, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, and Senators Pat Roberts and Lamar Alexander. Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, a BPC founder, and former Leaders Trent Lott and Bill Frist, both BPC Senior Fellows, also made remarks. To highlight the accomplishments and contributions of the honorees, BPC unveiled two short films that offer a glimpse into the respective careers of Baker and Dole.[11]

In 2013, BPC launched the Commission on Political Reform to investigate the causes and consequences of America's partisan political divide. Senators Tom Daschle, Trent Lott, and Olympia Snowe along with Secretary Dan Glickman and Governor Dirk Kempthorne announced a set of recommendations in June 2014. Over the course of 18 months, the commission, a group of thirty Americans from all political stripes, engaged concerned citizens across the country through town hall events and national surveys to develop the reforms.

In 2015, BPC announced the creation of the Congressional Patriot Awards, a biennial recognition given to two current or former members of the U.S. House of Representatives–one Democrat and one Republican–who have performed patriotic deeds worthy of remembrance.[12] The first awards were given to Representative Sam Johnson (R-TX) and Representative John Lewis (D-GA) in a ceremony at the Library of Congress on March 15, 2016.[13]

In March 2017, BPC celebrated its tenth anniversary at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. During the event, former Vice President Joe Biden was honored with the organization's Patriot Award.[14]

In January 2018, BPC started the American Congressional Exchange program. In the program, Members of Congress agree to visit, for one weekend, a Member of the opposite party in that Member's district. That member, in turn, reciprocates the following year or when schedules permit.[15]

Policy Areas

Economy

BPC's Economic Policy Project's work responds to the challenges facing the domestic economy by strengthening retirement security and personal savings, promoting sustainable federal fiscal policy, and educating the public about the potential consequences of failing to increase the nation’s debt limit.

Education

Over the last several years, BPC has focused on two areas on the Zero to Career continuum that are ripe for bipartisan engagement and movement: early childhood development, and how the higher education system can better-promote affordability and improve student outcomes.

Energy

As America has emerged as a major force in the global energy landscape through substantial improvements in energy efficiency, increased deployment of renewables, and falling fossil fuel costs, BPC has made significant efforts to help. BPC's Energy Project provides policy insights on what these changes mean for policymakers and the public, and explores how the nation can build upon our new energy abundance to address climate change.

Evidence-Based Policymaking

The Bipartisan Policy Center's Evidence-Based Policymaking Initiative supports the implementation of the recommendations of the Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking. Specifically, the initiative will provide advice and expertise on implementation options and strategies. It will also expand and extend the work of the Commission as Congress develops legislation and as the Executive Branch devises regulations, policies, and standards to improve the generation of high-level, quality evidence.

Governance

BPC's governance work lies within the Democracy Project, which keeps its finger on the pulse of American government. The Project examines trends and advances ideas for reform in areas from public service and election administration to the inner workings of Congress.

Immigration

BPC's Immigration Project and Immigration Task Force analyze and report on the state of U.S. Immigration policy, with an emphasis on the economic, humanitarian, and security aspects of the issue. Their findings allow them to make recommendations and develop the political case for bipartisan legislative immigration reform.

Infrastructure

Because government alone can't fully fund all of the nation's critical infrastructure needs, BPC has stepped in to help in recent years. BPC's Executive Council on Infrastructure is a working group of corporate CEOs and executives that advances recommendations to increase private sector investment in U.S. infrastructure projects.

National Security Project

The National Security Project brings together ideologically diverse experts to develop consensus on realistic recommendations for foreign policy and homeland security challenges. Major projects include the U.S.-Turkey partnership and broader regional issues including the ISIS conflict, Iran's nuclear program, countering violent extremism, defense issues, and cybersecurity.

Senior Fellows

References

  1. 1 2 "Bipartisan Policy Center Inc" (PDF). Foundation Center. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  2. ↑ "National Commission on Energy Policy". Bipartisan Policy Center. Archived from the original on 9 May 2013. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
  3. ↑ "Who We Are". Bipartisan Policy Center. Washington, D.C.: Bipartisanpolicy.org. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
  4. ↑ "National Commission on Energy Policy". Bipartisan Policy Center. Archived from the original on 9 May 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
  5. ↑ Bipartisan Policy Center. "Crossing Our Lines: Working Together to Reform the U.S. Health System".
  6. ↑ Baker, Howard; Daschle, Tom; Dole, Bob (17 June 2009). "Crossing Our Lines: Working Together to Reform the U.S. Health System". Bipartisan Policy Center. Archived from the original on 24 March 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
  7. ↑ Calmes, Jackie (16 November 2010). "Obama Deficit Panel Gets Some Competition". Politics. The New York Times. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
  8. ↑ "Debt Reduction Task Force Members". Archived from the original on December 13, 2010. Retrieved March 29, 2011.
  9. ↑ Hall, Laura (2011-05-24). "House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer Calls for Balanced Approach to Deficit Reduction | Bipartisan Policy Center". Bipartisanpolicy.org. Retrieved 2015-04-03.
  10. ↑ Bipartisan Policy Center. "Housing America's Future: New Directions for National Policy".
  11. ↑ "A Century of Service | Bipartisan Policy Center". Bipartisanpolicy.org. Retrieved 2015-04-03.
  12. ↑ "BPC Announces Congressional Patriot Award". Bipartisan Policy Center. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
  13. ↑ "Patriot Award". Bipartisan Policy Center. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
  14. ↑ Bipartisan Policy Center. "BPC's 10th Anniversary".
  15. ↑ "American Congressional Exchange". Bipartisan Policy Center. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
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