Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL) on April 20 joined his colleague U.S. Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) in a tour of her home state’s agricultural industry as part of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s American Congressional Exchange (ACE) program.
The Bipartisan Policy Center launched the ACE program in March with the goal to bridge what it calls the “familiarity gap” between members of Congress and to close the political divide that exists in America. In the ACE program, participating members of Congress spend a weekend with a member of the opposite party in that member’s home district. The visiting member reciprocates in his or her own district later in the year. Members are paired by choosing districts that are significantly different geographically, culturally and politically, according to the center.
“More often than many people realize, Republicans and Democrats work together in a bipartisan way and this exchange was a perfect example,” said Rep. Davis, chairman of the U.S. House Agriculture Subcommittee on Biotechnology, Horticulture, and Research, in an April 24 statement.
Rep. Blunt Rochester, who also serves on the U.S. House Agriculture Committee, took the congressman on several stops in Delaware, including at Corteva Agriscience, the agriculture division of DowDuPont, where Davis said he “enjoyed learning about the state-of-the-art research Corteva is pursuing and how our subcommittee can help.”
The pair also visited students running a farm-to-table program at William Penn High School, where Rep. Davis said it was encouraging to see them so “involved with agriculture and take action to help others get access to healthy, local food.”
Rep. Blunt Rochester called it a privilege to host Rep. Davis “and showcase Delaware’s sustainable farming operations, like Coverdale Farms, and our thriving biotechnology industry,” she said. “From the game-changing advancements at Corteva that are helping producers feed the world to farm-to-table programs that are preparing the next generation of farming leaders, Delaware has deep agricultural roots and a great deal to share with the rest of the country.”
Both lawmakers thanked the Bipartisan Policy Center for giving them the chance to participate in the ACE program.