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Non-profit

Bipartisan Policy Center

Website:

bipartisanpolicy.org
Location:

WASHINGTON, DC
Tax ID:

73-1628382
Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(3)

Budget (2021):

Revenue: $44,892,397
Expenses: $26,764,038
Assets: $51,557,481
Formation:

2007
President:

Jason Grumet
Type:

Think Tank

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The Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) is a center-left think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. Founded in 2002 by Jason Grumet, BCP was originally known as the National Commission on Energy Policy and focused on promoting left-leaning energy policy. 1

In 2007, the organization expanded to include other policy areas and took the name Bipartisan Policy Center. Former U.S. Senate Majority Leaders Howard Baker (R-TN), Bob Dole (R-KS), George Mitchell (D-ME), and Tom Daschle (D-SD) are listed as founders of the new BPC. 2

BPC’s board of directors includes former elected and appointed officials from both parties. Among top executives, five worked for either Democratic elected officials or for left-leaning organizations, while only one previously worked Republican officials. 3

History

The Bipartisan Policy Center grew out of an organization formed in 2002 called the National Commission on Energy Policy. The Commission included a bipartisan group of 20 leading energy experts from industry, government, academia, and environmental organizations. 4 The organization was originally funded by the left-leaning William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. 5

The National Commission on Energy Policy advised Congress, the executive branch, and state governments on policy, releasing a report entitled “Ending the Energy Stalemate: A Bipartisan Strategy to Meet America’s Energy Challenges” in 2004. Many of the recommendations in the report became part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The commission issued a new set of recommendations in 2007. 6

That same year, the organization took the name “Bipartisan Policy Center” when former Republican Senate Majority Leaders Howard Baker and Bob Dole and former Democratic Senate Majority Leaders Tom Daschle and George Mitchell were named as its co-founders. 7 Under this new name, BPC expanded its policy focus to include research and advocacy in economics, electoral issues, and public health. 8

Advocacy

In 2019, BPC research played a substantial role in convincing governments to adopt a number of left-leaning policies, including increased funding for low-carbon energy technologies, expanded retirement programs, and liberal expansionist-aligned immigration policy. 9

Though BPC has not taken a definitive stance on corporate activism, it has published several articles on the left-of-center movement towards the environmental, social, and governance model of corporate management. 10 BPC has also published studies on evolving regulation in the private technology sector, specifically as it pertains to artificial intelligence and its impact on the workforce and security. 11 BPC has criticized the American economy more broadly, arguing that “millions” of Americans face economic struggles and blaming the federal government’s fiscal position for those struggles. 12

On electoral administration, BPC has continuously taken the left-of-center position that vote by mail is completely secure for the 2020 elections, despite controversies already arising in the New York and New Jersey 2020 primary elections. 13 YouTube announced in late September 2020 that it would label criticism of mail-in voting as “misinformation,” and relied on BPC reports as its sole source of evidence for the move. 14

BPC has continued to publish left-leaning research on energy policy, arguing that the United States should decrease is production of hydrocarbons in order to invest more substantially in renewable energy. BPC does, however, recognize the need for conventional energy to maintain economic growth. 15 Aside from energy policy, BPC advocates for increased investment in infrastructure more broadly, claiming that there are “trillions in unmet infrastructure needs.” 16

On issues of immigration, BPC has supported a hybrid approach to both increase border security while granting legal status to some illegal immigrants currently in the United States. 17 BPC has objected to efforts by President Donald Trump to roll back the Obama administration’s executive order that established the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program which grants legal status to certain illegal immigrants brought into the country as minors. BPC has also called on Congress to enact legislation to formalize DACA protections. 18

BPC has taken a right-of-center approach to free speech, especially on college campuses. BPC opposes censorship of political viewpoints on college campuses, arguing that free expression and diversity are not mutually exclusive. BPC launched its Campus Free Expression Project to advocate for “campus policies and programs that foster a safe and welcoming environment for robust intellectual exchange.” 19

In May 2022, BPC released a report on its website, “Mail Voting is Safe and Secure,” that it claimed highlighted the history and usage of mail voting within the United States leading up to the 2022 midterm elections. The report also notes changes to state-level mail voting legislation following the Covid-19 epidemic and the 2020 election. The report also claimed that between 1992 and 2020, the percentage of those voting in person decreased (89% in 1992 to 30% in 2020) while those voting by mail increased (7% in 1992 to 43% in 2020). 20

Leadership

Jason Grumet is the founder and president of the BPC. Before founding BPC’s predecessor in 2001, Grumet led Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM), a left-of-center coalition of air quality control agencies. 21

Kelly Veney Darnell is the chief operating officer of BPC. Darnell previously worked as the federal affairs director for the city of Atlanta under Mayor Bill Campbell (D) and as a legislative assistant for U.S. Representative John Lewis (D-GA). 22

Julie Anderson is a senior vice president at BPC. Anderson was previously the manager of the Climate Change Campaign for the Union of Concerned Scientists, a left-leaning environmental group. Anderson previously worked under former President Bill Clinton as a special assistant for legislative affairs, handling energy and environmental issues for President Clinton. 23

William Hoagland is also a BPC senior vice president and the sole Republican-affiliated member of BPC’s top staff. Hoagland previously worked as vice president of public policy for CIGNA Corporation. Before that, he worked as director of budget and appropriations in Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist’s (R-TN) office. Previously, he worked for Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM). Hoagland helped to author the Balanced Budget Agreement of 1997. 24

Michele Stockwell is a BPC senior vice president and the executive director of BPC Action, the advocacy organization associated with the think tank. Stockwell previously worked as policy director for U.S. Representative Steny Hoyer (D-MD). Stockwell also worked as a policy advisor to Senator Joe Lieberman (D-CT), who was the Democratic vice presidential nominee in 2000. Stockwell also advised Lieberman’s 2004 campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. 25

David Lapan is the vice president of communications for BPC. Lapan has worked for the U.S. Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security. 26

Lisel Loy is vice president of programs for BPC. She previously worked in the Clinton administration as an assistant to the president and as staff secretary. From 1997 to 1999, she was Special Counsel to the Deputy Secretary at the Department of the Interior. 27

Elena Muehlenbeck is the vice president of finance and administration at BPC. Muehlenbeck previously worked for the New America Foundation, a left-of-center think tank. 28

Robbie Bach is the chairman of the BPC’s 15-member board of directors. Previously, Bach worked for Microsoft for 22 years. 29

The remainder of the board members have ties to both major political parties. Former Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Henry Cisneros and Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration Maria Contreras worked in the Clinton and Obama administrations respectively. The board also includes high-profile Republicans, such as Darlene Luccio Jordan, executive director of the Gerald R. Jordan Foundation and a top fundraiser for several Republican campaigns; former Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME); and Michael Steele, a former Republican National Committee (RNC) chairman and former Maryland lieutenant governor who became a leading nominally Republican opponent of President Donald Trump. 30

Funding Criticisms

In 2013, Public Citizen, a group founded by left-of-center activist Ralph Nader, claimed that BPC received funding from the American Banking Association and Citigroup to produce a report that was critical of the Dodd-Frank financial regulation legislation. 31

Left-of-center magazine The Nation has previously attacked BPC for receiving funding from Walmart as it did research and published a report on improving conditions at Bangladeshi garment factories. 32

A piece published by Harvard University’s Safra Center for Ethics accused BPC of supporting expanded oil drilling after receiving donations from oil and gas interests. 33

References

  1. National Commission on Energy Policy. Bipartisan Policy Center. Accessed October 4, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20130509033503/http:/bipartisanpolicy.org/projects/national-commission-energy-policy/about
  2. Team. Bipartisan Policy Center. Accessed October 4, 2020. https://bipartisanpolicy.org/team/
  3. About. Bipartisan Policy Center. Accessed October 4, 2020. https://bipartisanpolicy.org/about/
  4. National Commission on Energy Policy. Bipartisan Policy Center. Accessed October 4, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20130509033503/http:/bipartisanpolicy.org/projects/national-commission-energy-policy/about
  5. National Commission on Energy Policy. Bipartisan Policy Center. Accessed October 4, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20130509033503/http:/bipartisanpolicy.org/projects/national-commission-energy-policy/about
  6. National Commission on Energy Policy. Bipartisan Policy Center. Accessed October 4, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20130509033503/http:/bipartisanpolicy.org/projects/national-commission-energy-policy/about
  7. Team. Bipartisan Policy Center. Accessed October 4, 2020. https://bipartisanpolicy.org/team/
  8. About. Bipartisan Policy Center. Accessed October 4, 2020. https://bipartisanpolicy.org/about/
  9. Jason Grumet. Bipartisan Policy Center. Accessed October 4, 2020. https://bipartisanpolicy.org/person/jason-grumet/
  10. About. Bipartisan Policy Center. Accessed October 4, 2020. https://bipartisanpolicy.org/about/
  11. About. Bipartisan Policy Center. Accessed October 4, 2020. https://bipartisanpolicy.org/about/
  12. About. Bipartisan Policy Center. Accessed October 4, 2020. https://bipartisanpolicy.org/about/
  13. Election Project Staff. “Voting by Mail Counts.” Bipartisan Policy Center. August 11, 2020. Accessed October 4, 2020. https://bipartisanpolicy.org/blog/by-mail-or-absentee-voting-is-safe-and-easy-and-those-ballots-count/
  14. Bergen, Mark. “YouTube Will Label Videos on Mail Voting to Blunt Misinformation.” Bloomberg News. September 24, 2020. Accessed October 4, 2020. https://www.bloombergquint.com/technology/youtube-will-label-videos-on-mail-voting-to-blunt-misinformation
  15. About. Bipartisan Policy Center. Accessed October 4, 2020. https://bipartisanpolicy.org/about/
  16. About. Bipartisan Policy Center. Accessed October 4, 2020. https://bipartisanpolicy.org/about/
  17. About. Bipartisan Policy Center. Accessed October 4, 2020. https://bipartisanpolicy.org/about/
  18. Press Release. “BPC Statement on Supreme Court DACA Ruling.” June 18, 2020. Accessed October 4, 2020. https://bipartisanpolicy.org/press-release/bpc-statement-on-supreme-court-daca-ruling/
  19. About. Bipartisan Policy Center. Accessed October 4, 2020. https://bipartisanpolicy.org/about/
  20. Elections Project Staff. “Mail Voting is Safe and Secure.” Bipartisan Policy Center, August 26, 2022.  https://bipartisanpolicy.org/report/mail-voting-is-safe-secure/
  21. Jason Grumet. Bipartisan Policy Center. Accessed October 4, 2020. https://bipartisanpolicy.org/person/jason-grumet/
  22. Team. Bipartisan Policy Center. Accessed October 4, 2020. https://bipartisanpolicy.org/team/
  23. Team. Bipartisan Policy Center. Accessed October 4, 2020. https://bipartisanpolicy.org/team/
  24. Team. Bipartisan Policy Center. Accessed October 4, 2020. https://bipartisanpolicy.org/team/
  25. Team. Bipartisan Policy Center. Accessed October 4, 2020. https://bipartisanpolicy.org/team/
  26. Team. Bipartisan Policy Center. Accessed October 4, 2020. https://bipartisanpolicy.org/team/
  27. Team. Bipartisan Policy Center. Accessed October 4, 2020. https://bipartisanpolicy.org/team/
  28. Team. Bipartisan Policy Center. Accessed October 4, 2020. https://bipartisanpolicy.org/team/
  29. Team. Bipartisan Policy Center. Accessed October 4, 2020. https://bipartisanpolicy.org/team/
  30. Team. Bipartisan Policy Center. Accessed October 4, 2020. https://bipartisanpolicy.org/team/
  31. DePillis, Lydia. “At the Bipartisan Policy Center, is Cash the Real Divide.” The Washington Post. August 15, 2013. Accessed October 4, 2020. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2013/08/15/at-the-bipartisan-policy-center-is-cash-the-real-divide/
  32. Fang, Lee. “Accord Receives Funds From Walmart and Its Lobbyists.” The Nation. July 9, 2013. Accessed October 4, 2020. https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/think-tank-releasing-rival-bangladesh-safety-accord-receives-funds-walmart-and-its-lobby/#axzz2YfEUhXv6
  33. Silverstein, Ken. “The Bipartisan Lobbying Center: How a Washington Think Tank Advocates for Political Unity – and its Top Donors.” Edmund J. Safra Center for Ethics. Harvard University. July 9, 2013. Accessed October 4, 2020. https://ethics.harvard.edu/blog/bipartisan-lobbying-center

Directors, Employees & Supporters

  1. Tom Daschle
    Chairman of the Commission on Political Reform, Chairman of the Health Project
  2. Mark Heising
    Board Member
  3. Andy Slavitt
    Senior Adviser
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Nonprofit Information

  • Accounting Period: December - November
  • Tax Exemption Received: July 1, 2002

    • Available Filings

    Period Form Type Total revenue Total functional expenses Total assets (EOY) Total liabilities (EOY) Unrelated business income? Total contributions Program service revenue Investment income Comp. of current officers, directors, etc. Form 990
    2021 Dec Form 990 $44,892,397 $26,764,038 $51,557,481 $5,188,861 N $43,069,064 $885,900 $192,951 $2,051,999
    2020 Dec Form 990 $27,549,960 $22,766,927 $34,905,382 $6,528,899 N $25,969,900 $898,985 $155,706 $2,532,578
    2019 Dec Form 990 $22,624,232 $21,725,239 $28,109,163 $4,639,537 N $21,305,423 $423,700 $217,457 $1,849,082 PDF
    2018 Dec Form 990 $20,374,422 $20,319,693 $24,274,779 $1,782,878 Y $18,781,342 $573,679 $86,306 $1,914,265 PDF
    2017 Dec Form 990 $23,283,239 $20,321,287 $24,381,973 $1,993,464 N $21,885,569 $467,049 $54,997 $1,770,345 PDF
    2016 Dec Form 990 $19,832,867 $22,901,624 $21,545,558 $2,149,243 N $18,154,574 $657,634 $49,708 $2,124,518 PDF
    2015 Dec Form 990 $20,803,288 $21,667,384 $24,842,498 $2,427,524 N $18,748,908 $959,072 $36,210 $1,943,043 PDF
    2014 Dec Form 990 $25,154,266 $23,009,557 $25,632,990 $2,365,709 N $23,396,430 $508,685 $27,544 $1,615,489 PDF
    2013 Dec Form 990 $22,432,132 $25,035,799 $24,497,843 $3,375,746 N $20,981,389 $0 $28,972 $1,605,649 PDF
    2012 Dec Form 990 $22,119,298 $21,410,779 $27,398,264 $3,676,539 N $20,927,070 $0 $24,724 $1,496,874 PDF
    2011 Dec Form 990 $20,055,968 $18,264,790 $25,075,418 $2,067,090 N $18,968,077 $0 $52,199 $1,109,456 PDF
    2010 Dec Form 990 $21,798,883 $18,895,309 $23,650,324 $2,413,455 N $20,569,286 $0 $55,853 $1,107,612 PDF

    Additional Filings (PDFs)

    Bipartisan Policy Center

    1225 EYE ST NW STE 1000
    WASHINGTON, DC 20005-3914