It's a Wrap!

A part of my JCCC Independent Study was to make a video about my Internship. While I had a wide variety of experiences, I wanted to create something that could help others who might be thinking about an Internship, gain some insight into what such an experience is like.

If the video helps, or doesn't, please leave me a comment to tell me what you think.

Thanks and enjoy!

--Paul

My Summer Experience - Wrap Up

Ten weeks, 47 days, hundreds of miles walked, thousands of letters and phone calls and many of the most important issues facing our Country and I've wrapped up my summer of service.

This post will be longer than my usual reports as I share some thoughts about my entire experience.

It was a fantastic opportunity to serve and learn about how Congress really works. I was able to contribute to Congressman Moore's staff efforts to fulfill his responsibilities and act on his agenda. I helped in the process of moving forward the communications with constituents. I saw, and participated in, ongoing discussions about such important issues as energy policy (Cap and Trade), health care, and many others. I could see firsthand the many conversations, interactions, research and even distractions that factor into a Member of Congress executing their duties. I was on the front lines of a summer of history and I was able to learn what the normal (non-elected/staff) people of our legislative branch do day-in and out to help our government work.

My experiences were aided by the guidance of Marilyn Gaar, the Professor coordinating my Independent Study at JCCC, who asked me to think more acutely about the 'why' of my experience and how they are influenced by the things I was seeing and doing. Along the way I discovered, and even grew, my interest in public policy. How it's written, what happens to it as it moves along the process, what are the challenges and opportunities to it along the way and ultimately, what it means for Americans.

I don't think that I mentioned one of the resources that Professor Gaar shared with me, but it provided me with an important point of reference. A television series from PBS hosted by the journalist Hedrick Smith (The People & the Power Game) documented a behind the scenes view of the political processs, of the unelected (the media and lobbyists) as well as the elected (Congress and the Presidency), albeit from the mid 1990's.

Many of the fundamental forces at work then, are still present today, but have evolved into more sophisticated and at other times, more subtle, ways of influencing the legislative process. The media and it's role have undergone a radical transformation due to technological advancements such as the Internet, but the outcome is the same, to impact the legislative process by those who use and control those media.

Being in the thick of things and then seeing how people react when 'informed' by the media, be it television news, web sites or traditional 'journalism' frequently resulted in a quite different perspective. It kind of reminds me of the old game 'pass it along' where a message is repeated by whispering in the ear of the person next to you, and then on to the next person. By the time multiple people have heard, interpreted and repeated the message multiple times, the details and even the meaning can get quite mangled. This seems to happen to the news as it gets circulated among audiences with their own agendas, perspectives and expectations.

The power of the media then, is quite significant because it is the primary method of how the people, the consitutents who elect their representatives hear, or don't hear what is happening in Congress. That power then, has an important place in our government. In fact, the news, or today, the media, has actually been called 'the fourth estate' of our government (with the legislative, executive and judicial being the other three estates).

I also had first hand experience with one of the organizations that you hear so much about in the legislative process, the political action committee or PAC. While the specific one I interacted with, the American-Israel Political Action Committee (AIPAC) used a summer forum for Interns as an approach to reach the future generation of leaders and government participants. However put though, their goal is to impact the legislative process and it's actions towards/on Israel. Rather than overtly influence a current elected official as many PAC's do by funding a campaign, PAC's today use more complex techniques to influence and lobby.

All of these issues surround (or may be due to) the most significant change in our system of representative government, that is the shift away from the emphasis on the political party's position and platform, to those of the individual elected officials. And because of this shift, it seems to have fueled these alternative ways to communicate with/from the elected officials and their constituents and those (like PAC's) who have an interest in the issues before the government. In this sense, Representative Moore seems to be more responsive to the policy issues that come before him. On the otherhand, it also means that for the Democrats, they have a harder time coming to consensus on important legislation because they have so many different constitutent groups they respond/relate to.

I also found that the Blue Dog Democrats, while theoretcially joined
around fiscally responsible approaches to government, are challenged from being a diverse group of individual Representatives. As such they too seem to struggle executing on a consensus approach. I think that the examples portrayed in the episodes from The People and the Power Game, albeit from when the Republicans held the majority, has given me another perspective into how mechanisms like the media, PAC's and other influences foster and support this spirit of candidate centric politics which feeds into each Representative in an ongoing subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) state of 'campaining' to show their worth to the folks back home.

The programs in this series do a good job of exploring how Congress works and you should be able to pick them up at your local library.

As far as highlights of my experience, there were many. From the first 'rush' of being in the Capitol and passing a recognizable Member of Congress, to visiting the White House with Representative Moore, to taking my first call from a Constituent, to researching and learning an important fact of historical relevance to a position that the Representative was considering, each moment gave me a sense of pride, responsibility and appreciation.

I know that I have a lot of people to thank for the chance to have gained this insight and benefit from these opportunities. As I've already mentioned, Professor Gaar was instrumental in helping me figure out the meaning of much of what I encountered. Equally important were the staff in the office of Representative Moore, who were patient, helpful, supportive and fun to be around. Helping me to get the opportunity in the first place was Roberta Eveslage, a long time family friend and colleague of my mothers. Our Chief of Staff, Mr. Howard Baukele, gave me the chance to try new things and the guidance to improve when I needed direction. He also was extremely supportive by giving all of us interns information and the opportunity to attend special events directed at, and intended to serve newcomers to the Hill. I also want to thank Brandon Naylor, Communications Director for his help throughout my internship, and in supporting this blog to be public.

Finally a few words about the Representative himself. I went into this experience only knowing about Dennis Moore as a public figure. Basically that was what I had read or seen about him in the news and one time at an event. Getting to know him, in person, the first thing you're struck with is how smart he is and what an easy person he is to talk to. He is very comfortable in his role as one of our nation's leaders, yet he is a regular person. He listens when you speak to him; he is very funny when he's not talking about official matters and he cares alot about doing the right thing. I know from firsthand experience that he listens to and works for his constituents. The people of the 3rd District, and the Country, are well served by him.

OK so I think I've written enough for my last posting of my summer experience. This process of writing has been interesting, a bit of a challenge at times, and now, fun to look back on. I'll be watching for comments so that if anyone who reads this in the future has questions or feedback, I'll get back to you.

Thanks for joining me in my Summer experience.

--Paul

Last Day

Friday was my last day on the job. The day had a funny, odd feeling about it. I couldn't actually believe that the Girl Scout cookies (which had become associated with the last day of each of the previous interns) were laying out for me in the morning. I remembered my first day when all I could do was sit on my hands until I was slowly taught the ropes. Now, instead, I had to decide what to start with first. There were letters that needed to be logged, a few phone calls to make as well as to receive and some last minute preparations before I left.

The office didn't seem as tense either on the last day. I was able to comfortably settle in and start logging the mail without much forethought. It had almost become second nature. The phone calls continued to roll in on a slow, but steady pace. But instead of being nervous of missing a crucial piece of the constituent's contact information, I was more concerned about conveying the appropriate information about current issues. And I've noticed that when I needed to transfer a call to someone else on Friday that I no longer had to look up the extensions, instead my hand was already moving to the next digit before my wandering eyes looked up the extension as a double check.

Even though I just remarked upon how the office seemed to be a comfortable environment where I was getting to know the in and outs, that is a complete misrepresntation of what it really is like. Capitol Hill is a constantly evolving workplace and environment. Take for example that for the past 3 months I had gone downstairs for most afternoon lunches, but since the August Recess began, I was now resorting to going to the basement of the Rayburn House Office building because ours was closed for renovations for the entire month of August. More importantly I spent the entire summer with the ability to go up to the Gallery of the House floor. But now, for the last week we are all locked out of the Gallery because of renovations. Before I had even left the internship the physical building was changing to bring in a new era of accessibililty as a wheelchair lift and other accomodations were being added.

But the politics and candidates around Capitol Hill are also always changing. During my tenure the hot topics changed quickly and involved a wide range of different issues. When I first arrived in the office, abortion was the hot issue of the summer. Quickly energy, and ACES in specific, became a focal point of most of our calls, and as soon as ACES passed the House, people began getting worked into a frenzy over health care reform. I noticed during my stay that the Congressman has to be on top of a very large array of issues and must accommodate the different needs and desires that his constituents may bring to his attention. He must be reminded that he can't always satisfy all his constituents. In fact most of the time he will only be popular at best with a simple majority of his constituents.

But in almost no time at all, an election and as such, a campaign will be looming, and he will need to gather as much support as possible in order to remain a United States Congressman.

Winding Down

There is not much time remaining in my internship. Tomorrow (Friday) will be my last day and I'm having an odd sensation of almost being at the end. Today (again) was pretty slow. Most of the mail was covered for the time being and the phones were for the large part not ringing. While we did have a few phone calls, it was nothing like it has been.

With all of the attention now focused outside of Washington, back in Member's Districts, I'm seeing a much different side of the office's function. For instance today we learned that the Congressman has not scheduled any town hall meetings. This does not mean that he is 'hiding' or anything like that, it just means that he has no town hall meetings scheduled, something that is completely natural. Of late there has been a lot of attention in the media about Member's holding town hall meetings during this August recess. So rather than quickly try to schedule a town hall meeting, the Congressman is going to invite Constituents, with a wide range of perspectives, to come meet with him in his offices back in the 3rd District.

I was also working on background research for some constituent letters that aren't among the front line issues of this session. It reminded me about my first couple of weeks at the internship where I was just starting to get to know the ropes and learn how to access some of the resources exclusively for Congressional members and staffers. I also recalled the different periods of time where new or out of the ordinary issues would arise throughout my internship that I had to go and read up on. It's funny how I'm still using the same tools, and realize that I probably will be utilizing tools like CRS and LIS throughout my college years and maybe in my future profession (who knows what profession though =)).

I now realize that I have really started to enjoy following different pieces of legislation. I've found it sort of odd to see the number of Co-signers of H.R. 1207 grow continuously, the one piece of legislation that seems positioned to have long-term longevity. All I can say is that I hope I can continue to be an active contributor and participant in public service to my government, and I want to try to stay as well as informed on the issues as I possibly can.

A Fine Lunch

The office seems a bit different than it has been for the past two months. There are several LAs gone for the week/day and the office seems to have moved into an easy pace compared to the thomping routine we have been setting. I remember before and shortly after the ACES Bill was voted on that my ear felt like it was starting to burn after the long days on the phones. Don't get me wrong, it's nice to be able to slow down after working so hard, but I do sort of miss the energy that comes with the busier schedule.

I had a special lunch break today. I had the privelage to spend lunch with the Chief of Staff and to thank him for his support and the opportunity to be a part of the team this Summer. We went to a restaurant named Charlie Palmers, which is one of the better places to dine near the Capitol. We had a very enjoyable meal wrapped around a great conversation. It was a special treat for me because it was a chance to get to know him a bit better and where he's coming from and what his personal and professional goals are. It was also a chance to discuss and get his feedback on my academic and possible career plans. For me, it was really exciting to be able to have had the chance to get to know someone who has done so much in their career in government and to get to chat with them in such a 'normal' way.

It probably sounds cliche to say that the people who are in such powerful positions as the Chief of Staff are just like us; as in real people, with real lives. However true that may be, they are doing very important work, day in and day out. Sure they may have some more routine parts of their jobs, but everyone probably does, but in the end, they are working to make something happen through their Representative's actions. The Chief of Staff position is responsible for coordinating the work that prepares and executes the Representatives agenda, and their success (or failure) ultimately reflects on them and their reputation with constituents.

Tour Galore

Today, one of our LA's, who started his experience as an intern in our office when we were still delivering tours (Following his internship he went on to work as an official Capitol Tour Guide), gave us current interns a detailed walk through / Tour of the Capitol. We started by going to the typical tourist sites such as the Rotunda and the Crypt (I learned a new interesting fact: the Crypt actually holds up about 98% of the weight of the mid-sections of the Capitol including the massive dome) and Statuary Hall. Then our LA extraordinaire (he does give a GREAT tour) took us to the Cloak Room to show the new intern (Note: see my earlier post explaining that each week in August the office has a Girl Scout assigned as an intern for the week, but without being badged and with complete intern duties and perks). We also got a guided glimpse of the old Senate Hall, the original Dome and the original Supreme Court where our LA Guide keenly pointed out that the depiction of Justice is not blind. A very cool tour for sure!

As I reflect on the experiences I've had during my internship, I feel some small relief that I did not have to give massive numbers of Capitol tours as past interns may have and as interns in other Congressional Offices still do. I mean, don't get me wrong, the Capitol is a magnificent place to see and be in, and to be able to report that you actually get to work in the Capitol is impressive. At the same time, if you were spending the majority of your internship giving tours you would miss out on learning and doing so many of the things that happen at the office. Even though there are slow times (like any job I presume) you never know what might just happen in an instant. Like today, I was able to answer and respond to a call from a very pleasant person who wanted to discuss a variety of items that they've heard reported recently in the media. Even though we did not share the same views on every issue, it was interesting to hear how someone from a different background and a different perspective on current affairs thinks and explains why they feel that way. Also, being in the office provides a different atmosphere than that you feel when you're in a public building or even a school. The work of a Congressional office has no definitive end. As long as the Member serves as the official elected representative, there is always work to be done.

Oh, and one last thing that's an important tip for others. I've found that the best way to get to learn and do things, one only needs to ask or offer to provide assistance to be assigned a new task. That's when the best opportunities of an internship experience truly arrive.

And So The Ties Loosen

Today marks the first day of the August recess. The dress code in the office relaxes a bit when we're not 'in session' so for the next month the interns will not be in suit-and-tie. In fact, we're allowed to wear short sleeve collared shirts and jeans with a presentable pair of comfortable shoes. For the average intern, not used to always being dressed up, it is a nice change of pace from the professional suits.

It seems that the computer servers also decided to take the day off after they underwent regular maintenance over the weekend. Those of us in the back room were unable to get onto the mail system making it impossible for us to log the mail for the day. Instead, we helped do presorting of the mail, as a collective project for the most part, for the Chief of Staff. We were looking to identify the main categories to organize the communications in, such as health care, stimulus, etc. so that when we're able to once again log the mail into the computer system, the process with be quicker and smoother.

Each week during the month of August our Office is assigned a Girl Scout as an intern for the week. Today we had the first of the four Girl Scouts join the team for her week-long experience. I tried to introduce her to many of the tasks interns are involved with and help her around the office, but the server being down did hinder an important part of the typical responsibilities. Hopefully we'll be back online in the morning.

Oh, and of important note, the Longworth's Cafeteria will be closed for the entirety of August for renovations. So most of us went over to the Rayburn Building to eat in their Cafeteria. Even after nearly the entire summer I'm still finding new experiences and ways around the Capitol complex. Incidentally, those of you who are culinary enthsiasts will note that the Longworth Cafeteria is typically regarded as a good place to eat on the Hill.

The House is at Recess

Friday, July 31st, marks the last day that the House of Representatives were in session for the summer term of the 111th Congress. This doesn't mean that this was the last day of my internship but rather it's the last day that the Congressional members would be lingering around Capitol Hill for our short tenures. I have found out though, through various conversations, that many interns will be departing the Washington, D.C. area in the next week or two. I'm included in that batch with next Friday, August 7th being my last day.

I was able to talk to the Congressman for a bit in his office today, as I was scheduled to get a picture taken with the Congressman. He asked me where I was going to school and what I was going to major in. When I told him that a major in political science is one of my leading options, he responded by saying "...why would you ever want to do that"? I have found that Congressman Moore can be witty and very easy to connect with when chatting with him.

I must say, that comment was a fun way to wrap up my interactions with the Congressman, who went on to explain that this (political science) was a similiar path he had decided on when he went to college.

The numbers of phone callers are now slowing, with the recess looming. However, I still had a few calls upset about the proposed health care legislation. As always, I've tried to politely inform them that the legislation, which it seems that the vast majority of those who are upset, aren't aware of it's components (besides the fact that President Obama supports it and/or that it may be socialized medicine), HR 3200 has been available to read in its entirety online for over 2 weeks and that the vote had already been postponed for at least a month, while Congress is out on recess. Some were relieved to hear this, while others were still concerned that Congress was still hoisting it on the public.

One caller that came my way told me that they were either dropped or disconnected as they were talking with one of my fellow interns. She went on to tell me that the intern she was speaking with was arguing with her and not listening to her opinion. She expressed the concern that we were taking away her voice. I tried to, very diplomatically, tell her that as interns we were not there to argue with her or try to change her opinion and that we would definitely pass along their concerns, but we do want to help point out misconceptions that callers may have heard when they are in the process of sharing their comments with us. While I think she understood that message, she wasn't happy when I tried to point out, per her comment, that there is no mention of abortion at all in HR 3200 nor the licensing of, or support for euthanization. This caller, and others, have told us that their sources were infallible and that I/we were not being honest with them.

Oh well, to each their own.

Cooling off Thursday

The phones were once again ringing steadily and keeping us hopping through most of the day. They started to taper off a bit at the end of the day. This may be due in part because the Blue Dog Democrats, which Congressman Dennis Moore is a member of, have struck a deal with the rest of the Democratic party on providing provisions to help lower the costs of HR 3200. Also, the deal ensured that there would be no full House vote on health care until after the August recess. To not 'rush a vote' prior to the August recess had been strongly advocated by Republicans and Moderate Democrats alike.

Ironically the office received today a new telephone that they had ordered to help with the high volume of calls we have received this summer in regards to ACES and the pending health care legislation.

Besides the morning rush of calls, the amount of work we were involved with was significantly less when compared with everything we've been doing all Summer long. While I wouldn't say it was relaxing, it did feel like a bit of relief from a pretty hectic and busy schedule. I've got to say that I have developed quite a respect for the role of interns and staff and the work that they do to support a Representatives office.

An Odd Way to Shorten the Day

I believe I have mentioned before that the security in the House Office buildings has become significantly more pronounced since 9/11. In fact, each piece of mail sent into a congressional office building is radiated and opened before it ever reaches the congressional office. Well today, which was supposed to be my shadowing day, was itself overshadowed by the fact that there were last-minute jitters about health care legislation and a suspicious package left by the 7th floor men's room.

I believe to start off with the first reason why I wouldn't be shadowing the Congressman would be most interesting. There was an emergency Blue Dog Democrat Caucus meeting scheduled at the last minute to discuss all updates about the health care bill and it was to be a Members Only meeting at 10:00 o'clock this morning. This displaced on a meeting I was to have been attending with the Congressman.

We also heard the news late this morning that the full House will not be voting on H.R. 3200 for sure until September now; however, you may still be hearing that the House voted on the bill and it passed, or something approximately like that, and that sometime over the next few days there may be a vote in the Energy and Commerce Committee. This is a Committee that Congressman Moore is not member of and just happens to be chaired by Congressman Henry Waxman (the same Representative who sponsored the ACES bill). I suspect that in due time each Committee with oversight responsibility for health care will pass some amended version of the bill so that the full House can debate, and take action, on it following the August recess.

When I returned from lunch today, I was dismayed to discover that I was unable to use one of the Men's Rest Rooms because the area around it was blocked off by several police officers. Soon thereafter I learned that there had been a suspicious package discovered in that part of the corridor so the Capitol Police (yes, the US Capitol has its own Police Force) were blocking off access and were preventing people from passing in the general area. The situation quickly became more tense, and they brought up screens and shelters to obscure the view of that part of the hall way and/or to 'protect' people in the adjoining areas. By 1:30 PM, the situation had escalated to the point that the Police ordered a full evacuation of the building.

If my earlier posts haven't emphasized the fact that both the pace and tone of communications have escalated and have created a stressful state around the Capitol. I'm even hearing of other offices receiving threats among their heated calls. So naturally, the Police were being cautious and not taking chances given the tense environment that has emerged.

Our whole team followed procedures and quickly exited the building and across the street from the Longworth Office Building. Naturally there was quite a crowd outside and we were all left unsure of a timetable to be able to re-enter the building. After about 30-minutes our Chief of Staff made the decision to allow staff to end the work day and unless we were notified NOT to return tomorrow, we'd start off with things hopefully being a bit more normal on Thursday.

Considering the days events I certainly understand, and frankly appreciate, the fact that I hadn't done my Shadow today. Unfortunately, with the August Recess scheduled just two days from now, there is a growing chance that I may not be doing a shadow day this Summer.

Moore Calls

Once again Constituent calls about the proposed health care legislation were raining into the office. Today was the day that I was scheduled to shadow the Congressman for the day, but due to a frequently ocurring shift in the Congressional schedules (a mark up of a Bill being moved from Thursday to today) our office scheduler courteously informed me that he could move me to another, and hopefully varied day.

To be honest, the callers that I received today that seemed to be the most impassioned on both ends of the spectrum all appeared to not be Constituents of the Third District. I guess if they have the 'dedication' to call every Congressman, or at least every Congressman they believe to be in a key influential position, to express their concerns about a bill because they are "constituents of the United States of America and whatever Congressman (XXXX) votes on will affect them", then I can at least listen to their concerns.

One of the most important things that I've learned, and developed an opinion about throughout my internship experience, is that if you are going to call into a Congressional office you must try to keep an open mind about rumors or supposed 'facts' you might have heard. Because there does appear to be a considerable amount of inaccurate information being circulated (especially around such a hot topic as health care legislation is) I know that the commitment our office makes to be accurate and focused on the actual facts. We are all trying very hard to be professional, patient and polite as we try to make sure that we are diffusing myths that have been spread.

Such as in the health care bill, there are two portions of the proposed legislation that have been completely misinterpreted and mangled to the point of becoming devoid of the facts. Among several examples, one is found on Page 16, which has been referred to by some in the media and other influential figures as a clause that will end all private health care insurances. Another example is on Page 425, which is supposedly a provision to either discuss end of life practices with health care bureaucrats or be a form of government sanctioned/encouraged 'euthanizing' (yes some of the out-of-state callers literally stated that we were 'euthanizors'). Finally another claim is that that the Bill itself endorses and promotes abortion.

To be absolutely clear,the section of the Bill where callers 'reference' the pro-abortion stance of the legislation is on Page 16. It's true that that section is titled "SEC. 102. PROTECTING THE CHOICE TO KEEP CURRENT COVERAGE", but abortion or ending pregnancy is never mentioned anywhere in the entire Bill. I suspect that the use of the words 'protecting the choice' has been singled out as being 'code' for protecting abortion. In actuality, this statement is about allowing individuals to keep their current private insurance coverage.

On Page 425 the section starts off with the language "advance care planning consultation" meaning discussing between the "individual and a practitioner" to discuss different methods of treatments. It is important to note that the option that page 425 offers is already being provided by most private insurance companies to elderly people and is also completely optional.

Oh and one last thing, I had a caller yell and get confrontational with me by stating that I was lying when I told her that I was looking at the Bill as I tried to explain the above referenced sections to her. She shouted that its impossible to read this Bill and/or no one has read the bill and/or you would have to have lawyers there to be able to read it.

I'm heartened though, that the facts are completely and easily accessible because Thomas.gov has the entire Bill online, and more importantly as a service to the Constituents of the 3rd District of Kansas, Congressman Dennis Moore has the health care Bill on his website, as well as a complete section by section summary of every piece of the proposed legilsation. I also don't understand how this caller, and the others who are repeating the same misinterpretations, could be telling me what is in the Bill if they, or "no one" had been able to read it.

Late Monday Night

Monday was a very busy day. The phone calls rolled in throughout the day. I heard many different tales ranging from how socialized medicine has ruined the European nations to how the big insurance companies had cost the health of more than one individual. I did spend a portion of the day away from the phones. Most notably was the majority of the afternoon when I was inside of the Congressman's office, working on helping to presort mail for one of the L.A.'s. I had the opportunity to read in detail many varying letters randing from energy and environment concerns to health care and abortion letters. It becomes tiring after a while trying to determine which letters are alike and need to be answered in similar fashions.

After the day in the office wrapped up I had the opportunity to accompany the majority of our staff to a reception down on I street near the White House. There was a nice assortment of finger foods as well as an open bar for those old enough to partake of the cocktails. This event was mostly aimed at Kansans because the highlight of the reception was a private screening of "What's the Matter with Kansas" with two former Congressman in attendance, Jim Slattery and Dan Glickman who also served as the Secretary of Agriculture. The movie discussed how Kansas has been the scene of culture polarities throughout its history, from having a socialized newspaper to being a "God Haven State" with one of the strongest ties to the Republican party.

I would recommend seeing the flick once it goes mainstream (if they can find a distributor) if you are interested in Kansas politics and as a State. Some may find parts of it irritating but funny (both Republicans and Democrats) with a wide array of interesting characters. The filmmakers, who were present for this showing, handled a good Q/A session about the making of the movie and expressed that it was their goal to present an unbiased view of Kansans and their politics. It struck me as a bit odd then that the former Congressmen, to some extent, used the Q/A time as a forum to showcase themselves.

As someone suggested to me, it is hard for people, who once had all the attention of the 'bully pulpit of an elected official' to not be in the limelight when in public gatherings.

I'm appreciative of the many dimensions of my Internship including the chance to join in the out-of-work opportunities that are broadening my perspectives on what congressional staffers do.

Kids Love Barney in the Morning!

Even before my official office hours began on Friday, I was already heading over to a Committee Room down on the third floor. The room wasn't busy yet and I wound up being able to sit next to a friend that I went to high school with (and played baseball together with) who is interning for a Congressional office representing Michigan. My friend and my fellow intern from Congressman Moore's office and me were all together in the Committee Room, sitting less than 5 feet away from a podium that Representative Barney Frank would be addressing us during a Congressional Intern Semimar Series event in about 40 minutes.

Congressman Frank spent most of his time talking about partisanship, a topic that I had chosen for one of my final high school government projects just this Spring. He discussed a view that has become increasing unpopular. He is one of the few remaining Congressman that will openly say that partisanship is good, it can even get things accomplished. Of course he was speaking in regards to how divided Republicans and Democrats are on the current health care debate, but more importantly how each party has become so divided ideology within their own respective camps. In so many words the Congressman was calling out to the Democrats to get it together and get a health bill passed.

He also spoke a bit about his own personal story of what his reasoning was for going into politics instead of his initial goal of becoming an academician. He put his comments into a context of our interests, of how to decide what the right career path is for oneself. The reason, if you're wondering, is that he believed that he has too short of an attention span to succeed in an academic position. He gave an example. If you give him an issue to consider for 20 minutes then have a debate, he will have a great advantage. If you give him 2 weeks, he will be at a disadvantage because after a day or so, he would get bored, be distracted and move onto another issue. Also, while talking about debate, Congressman Frank stressed that it is extremely important to truly discuss the substance within bills and proposed policies. He emphasized that one of the bad things about the current political climate was when Members just throw around absurd claims that delay or create indecision because of false statements.

The last words from the discussion that Representative Frank had that I want to bring up was about the military. While it eludes me as to whether or not the Congressman directly linked the next statement to the F22s or not, it certainly is a strong example. The Congressman pointed out the fallacies that come when a country starts shifts from funding a program such as the military as a means to reach the end goal of protection, to the funding of the military being the end. This means that when the only reason to fund a program or military further is to just provide for that part of the government (or in this case, the business sector), then the money is being wastefully spent for an absent cause.

The rest of the day was overshadowed by having had the chance to participate in this intriguing seminar and Q/A, but let me assure that that once again, the staff dealt with a high volume of phone calls concerning the growing debate around health care.

Keeping Busy ... and ...A New Bill

Today started off quite normal. There was some mail to log and some letters to edit. Two of my intern colleagues spent the day shadowing the Congressman. This is an important part of the Internship Experience and I'll be doing my 'shadow day' next week.

Health care calls continued to roll in today. Its suprising to me to hear how many different auto-calls are coming in. The first mass-campaign auto-call was from AARP, yet today there were at least two other ones as the caller IDs indicated 924 and 620 area codes, with most of the calls being Constituents.

Like other modern offices, Congressional offices are subject to technology challenges from time to time. Today our computerized mailing system went down for at least half an hour today. The server was down and wouldn't restart. A staffer had to call an off-site contractor for Tech Support. Luckily they were able to fix the server without a significant delay.

After the server was back-up in good working condition I made a trip down to the Cloak Room to deliver an additional co-sponsor to an existing Bill that Congressman Moore has sponsored, and at the same time, a new Bill that the Congressman was just about to introduce in the official record.

I also was able to spend some time off the computer today at the office. As I've previously mentioned, one of the services that the Office provides to Constituents is to help arrange for tours of the U.S. Capitol. In support of this service, I spent nearly an hour helping to finish stamping what are known as Gallery Passes for Constituents to use to view the House Chamber. It was a little strange, yet exciting, to be placing the Congressman's name on an official pass. While this may seem like a normal type of office work to some readers of this Blog, allow me to assure you, that there is a sense of respsonsibility attached to doing this work. (NOTE: The picture on this posting is of the Gallery Passes that I worked on).

Because of my small contribution to this process, in the near future someone from the 3rd District will be watching history being made in the United States House of Representatives.

The Congressman Has Exited the Building

Today the Congressman had a very busy schedule. One LA staffer and he were gone for the majority of the day attending a variety of of meetings and Subcommittee Hearings. I was unable to attend any of the open sessions today due to the continuing high volume of calls, but from what I could tell, everyone is feeling the hectic schedule.

I found out today that one of the Robo-calls that is reaching our constituents is from the Republican National Committee or RNC. This 'polling', as the RNC refers to it, is conducted in such a way as to solicit contact to our office. Although I don't have the precise transcript as to what the message says, yet, I can't imagine a situation where one political organization would use a marketing technique like this that would result in their position to be questioned or undermined by their own message. Its important not to observe that the RNC probably only called people who have in the past been supporters. Please don't misinterpret my observations to suggest that I'm saying that the RNC, or for that matter any organization representing voters, does not have the right to voice their support. I'm sure that those on both sides of political issues use similiar tactics.

What concerns me most is that it is not a productive excercise to just generate calls by auto-connecting constituents who are ill infomed about what they are really calling to protest. It's obvious that the vast majority of these callers only know the specific lead point that the Robo-call message told them to say. That message of course was to call and 'just say no' to Obama's health care plan.

To me it seems that the result of such Robo-calling undermines the true value and intent of the First Amendment.The manipulation of constituent voice has become a very troubling issue to me today.

Letters and Future Letters

Today the office printed off response letters to many of the people who called in about the ACES bill. The letters were in response to their perspective of Pro, Con or Neutral. Keep in mind that these were responses ONLY to the people who are without an email or those who indicated that they preferred an actual, physical written response. The stack of letters that we were mailing out was incredible; without a doubt it was even larger than the actual ACES bill was (that is a joke, as the ACES Bill was over 1,000 pages long itself)

We didn't even make a minor dent in the folding, stuffing and sealing of the huge pile of letters. One reason (besides the volume) why we're not making better progress in getting these important communications out is because the AARP auto calls increased significantly today. You'll remember from my previous posts that they have started a member campaign that auto-connects when opted by the recipient, to our office.

The good news is that the volume of phone calls today were not as heavy as all the calls that we received during the peak of the ACES consideration, but it wasn't too far off. I know that I personally was not able to get too much work done besides answering constituent phone calls. In between all the Health Care concerns were a few H.R. 1080 calls otherwise known as the ROAM Act of 2009 or the pro-non-slaughtering horse bill, which the Congressman has announced his support of by the way.

I also made several trips over the Rayburn building during the mid-morning. I was supposed to deliver materials to either a staffer or the Congressman during a Financial Services Committee meeting, but as luck would have it, I believe it was pushed back due to votes (I'm not a 100% sure why it hadn't started so don't hold me to it).

Then, about half an hour later I received a call from the staffer I was supposed to drop the memo off to. I found myself running to pick up several letters for the Congressman to sign in a staffers room adjacent to the Committee room. It appears to be a good environment for Members and Staffers to escape the high energy out in the halls. After a staffer back in my office was able to get the Congressman to sign the letters, I was able to run the letters back to the Committee's office room where they would take over from there to get them sent out.

Finally, it was also the final day for another one of our interns. From now till the end of my summer internship we will be down to only 4 interns. This is the smallest number that its been working in the office since I started here back in late May. We have always had at least 5 interns and at one point we had 6 for a week.

Funny, but I'm already getting worried about how the office will function with fewer interns and as the health care legislation progresses. This should be interesting!

Health Care and Drinking Injuries

I've been gone for the past couple of days and consequently I have missed two days of work. I'm back and ready to roll.

The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) apparently has an automated call (often referred to as a 'robo-call') targeting our constituents that will automatically connects them to our office as soon as they press a button that confirms they want to speak to us.

As a result, all day there was a steady (and heavy) stream of AARP members calling the office with a vague idea about the current Health Care legislation and expressing their opinions for or against the Bill. It is important for constituents to be active, but at the same time it is important and would help their case if they are knowledgeable and able to clearly communicate their position about the legislation rather than just make vague points and general opinions about themselves or the bill. It makes it harder for us to help them and so that we can provide them with helpful and accurate information.

I also attended a seminar for the mostly young people who are staffers on the Hill, concerning drinking and driving today. The speaker has had long term consequences from his own actions involving alcohol and driving, including restricted mobility and decreased mental ability (affecting his speech and memory). As a result of his experience, he, along with his family, have since then become advocates to youth about the consequences of how making a misjudgement of drinking and driving a single time, and how it can dramatically affect not just the individual but their entire family. It was a powerful presentation and one that was effective in getting its message across.

It's great that this internship has had so many different dimensions and to allow for this type of information to reach its target audience so well.

Knowing the Issues

Today I spent the majority of my time working on particular issues that are concerning constituents. I was able to research what several different bills impact might be as well as what approaches might offer alternatives to address the issues they address. The main sources that I've been using while trying to conduct this research and to better understand the issues include the Congressional Research Service (CRS), Legislative Information System (LIS) and previous communications with/from from constituents. These sources help me explore and to better understand the various ways in which to answer these difficult questions. CRS and LIS are exclusively for Congressional staffers and members, but some of their resources are published online after a peroid of time has passed onto the www.Thomas.gov site.

The Congressman and his Bill

The Congressman has sponsored a new Bill for legislative action. While I have not had a chance to read the Bill, H.R. 2246-the Community Building Code Administration Act of 2009, the amount of work that accompanies new proposed legislation is enormous.

Just one example was one of my fellow interns having to go through pages and pages of call sheets last week, which consumed the majority of his day, to contact and attempt to gain support from fellow Congressman through their staffers. Of course the calls seemed a bit premature at the time because Representatives weren't even in town due to the holiday. But this week, as the Representatives rolled back into town and their normal routines, and as the staffers had time to advise them about this new bill, co-sponsors began to accumulate.

All week we've been taking down forms to the Cloak Room for signatures from the growing list of Congressman to be added as co-sponsors to the Bill. Today I believe every single intern made it down to the Cloak Room at least once. In fact, just after one intern left to deliver a confirmation form, another request came through on the telephone.

I suspect that as this Bill picks up momentum and progresses through the process, I am sure that more media sources will be calling on the Office for more information and details. Today, a person from Fox News called requesting an interview. While I haven't heard the outcome on that request, I do know that sooner or later the Congressman will be working through the media to support his bill to nuture it through and beyond the Committee process.

HOT HOT HOT, New Ideas for Legislation

It is intriguing to see what different constituents have to say to their Congressperson. Without going into any specifics, I'll explain. It is the right of every constituent to express their opinions about any current legislation that is being considered as well as to raise issues that they believe the Representative and Congress should be addressing. It is interesting to see and hear the wide range of topics that are presented, and oftentimes, the basis and context in which they are presented.

Sometimes the 'facts' that are communicated behind an issue appear to be distorted. For example one recent letter raised the issue of a significant difference in the pensions between retired Army Veterans and retired Representatives. The constituent's perspective that the two were widely apart in terms of dollars and appropriateness was backed by their belief that a retired one-term Representatives pension was more than 10-times than a veterans. It got me to thinking, how often do you ever think about a retired Congressman's pension? While the facts behind the issue may be different than believed, the issue here though, was that the constituent wanted his Representative to support an increase in Veterans' retirement pensions.

It is extremely important to note, however, that it is not the role of a Congressman to debate specifics with their constituents. Rather, it is important for them to be able to listen and understand what is important to the people that they represent and to use the available forums and processes of the Office to move those concerns through Congress as appropriate.

As I pass my half-way mark of my summer internship experience, I realize that I am gaining a deeper insight and respect for how our system of representative government works. I am looking forward to each day to learn how all of the parts of our Office work to achieve these goals.

John McCain and the White House

What a long, exciting and terrific day Wednesday was. I started off earlier than normal by arriving outside of the White House at 7:45. It had been arranged that I was to meet the Congressman's wife by the gate so that she could walk us through White House security (the post 9/11 world prohibits all public tours making the White House only accessible through special access such as when accompanied by a Congressperson or family member accompaniment). I was surprised, and pleased to discover Representative Moore himself out front waiting for me and my fellow interns. It was the first time that I've had the chance to exchange small talk with the Congressman while we waited for the last of our interns to arrive.

Although I did not get to see the entire White House, I did enjoy the experience immensely. I was able to see the East Entrance Wing and the entire first floor (a map of the White House - that you can obtain at the official Visitors Center which is still open to the public - shows a 2nd and 3rd floor above the floor I was on) which includes the Media Room, the Green Room, the Blue Room, the Red Room, the State Dining Room, the entrance/cross halls, the China Room, the Library and the Diplomatic Reception Room. Whoa, that is a mouth full. The rooms were jammed with history ranging from priceless portraits of Kennedy looking deep in thought as he stared downward and Reagan showing the visitors the way out, to fine furniture and low hanging chandeliers. The view outside of the south window in the Blue Room, looking towards the Jefferson AND Washington Memorials, was surreal in it's dramatic beauty. I would highly recommend arranging a visit if at all possible either for the grand views in or outside of the building or the feeling that washes over you being at the epicenter of the free world.

Obviously my arrival to the office was slightly later than normal. Most of the mail tasks of the day passed by quickly and with little standing out as I was still in a blissful state from my earlier experience. What was memorable was that the office began receiving a number of phone calls , obviously all originating from an organized campaign to lobby Congressional Offices. It was nothing near the caliber of ACES but a phone campaign nevertheless. I also left a bit early to make it to an evening, Capitol Hill / Staffers event.

This event was the kick-off of the Summer Intern Seminars hosted by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). The speakers this week were Senators Robert Menendez, NJ (D) and John McCain, AZ (R). I believe that most of their events are a bit more progressive in nature than conservative, but of course not this one was not. I got there about half an hour before the program was set to begin. None the less, there was a long line around both corners of the the Russell Senate Office Building's Rotunda and by time I got in all of the limited seating was taken and a mass of people were already gathering for the standing room.

I decided to try and maneuver myself towards the front and I was able to find a good standing place about 8-to-10 feet back from the podium where the Senators gave their speeches. McCain's speech covered his perspective ranging from American-Israel policies to the Iraq war and the conflicts in Tehran/Iran. It was interesting to here how a recently defeated Presidential Candidate addresses a new generation of leaders in an off the record discussion. There was no doubt in my mind about how significantly different, and aggressive, a McCain Administration would have been in its foreign policies and actions.

Menedez's speech was overshadowed, partially due to the fact that people like me had been standing for about an hour and a half two hours before he got onto stage. He did give a nice anecdote to how he started off righting the injustices of a corrupt school board bent on gathering dues from low-income students. From what I gathered, he was a bit more diplomatic than McCain.

By 8:30, after such an exciting day, I was ready to hit the rails (the Metro) and call it day.

Day Two-ACES (not the card kind either)

Today I spent the whole day, for the second day in a row, logging in mail concerning ACES. From 9 to 6 I had my head deep in piles of letters and phone records trying to make progress in all of the constituent contacts. All I know is that over the last two days, the Intern Strike Force Team has gone through roughly 2,500 contact materials. After a while the letters all seem to blend together and it becomes harder to keep up with whether they are for or against the legislation.

The only respite I had from working on the volume of mail today was running down recycled technology to the office supply store. I guess they are able to salvage different components of whatever they receive and are able to resupply those parts to the different Congressional offices. Just another way the Capitol is working to be Green.

A New Intern for a New Week

Well, back to work after a terrific holiday weekend! In case you haven't ever been able to be in the nation's capital on Independence Day, take it from me, it is definitely something to experience in person.

Today we welcomed our final new intern for the summer term session. For the third time this summer I was able to hear the new intern orientation for our office. It seems strange to hear someone explaining how the office functions while already knowing the little ins and outs of the office.

Today we also walked into the office to find a surprise at the Interns desk, a whole new pile of mail to log! And just when I thought the final call about ACES had passed, we started the process of logging the mail we have already received concerning ACES. That basically sums up the day. New Intern and logging ACES mail.

The Day Before Independence

Spirits were high as everyone knew that the long weekend was merely one day away. It seems like every single intern had some family member either in town already or coming in the following day. In addition to all that, we were out of processed mail meaning we would not be spending the whole day on the same single task.

Then, after lunch, a staffer and an intern disappeared for a bit. I did not think much of it until the intern called the office telling me to inform everyone that if we desired to view the House Floor, we had to wrap up whatever we were doing in a few minutes. His call wasn't that specific, so I didn't give it much thought at first, in fact I was wondering why would we want to go to the gallery on a day when Congress wasn't in session. Then it dawned on me that the intern was referring to actually going to be on the floor of the US House of Representatives, not merely in the gallery that overlooks it.

Obviously I had never taken the path we used to get to the floor before today. We transversed through a corridor that was marked 'Members Only' where the walls were lined with past famous dignitaries and then we entered the lobby that connects with the back of the floor. Needless to say, as I emerged from the lobby into the House Chamber, it was an exciting moment. It was odd to see up close the same platform where the Speaker resides and the exact location of where the President stands as he reports the State of the Union. I can personally attest that the seats on the floor are quite enjoyable, and I was flabbergasted how simple the voting system appeared to the touch of my bare hand. And I even could see the typical office equipment that are used on the floor in the early 21st century (Fax machines and printers for the main part).

So one might wonder how we were permitted to be on the floor of the US House of Representatives anyway. The Rules of the House are quite firm that ONLY Members of the US House of Representatives, past-Members, immediate staff of the Clerk of the House and official Pages to the House may be present on the floor when in session. The only exception to this rule is for official guests as determined and voted on by the House Rules and Administration Committee (such as the President in order to report to Congress on the State of the Union, members of the Senate, etc.)

But, when not in session, the Rules allow for other official visitors, which includes authorized (with appropriate identification) staff of Members of Congress. If you think about it, when Congress is not in session, there has to be access for the custodial staff!

So that's how on the eve of our nations birthday celebration, that I found myself on the floor of the United States House of Representatives. It might seem strange to some to admire a mere room that seems to some extent plain, excluding the scattered engravings and portraits, but to me it was a thrill. Even without the action and Representatives present, to be so close to the power of the House was an inspiring experience for me.

Quiet

Today seems quite out of place when compared to the last week and a half. There seemed to be no real action today. We ran out of processed mail yesterday leaving us only to write a few custom letters for the entire day. The phones were also relatively quiet throughout the day, with the last remnants of tconstituents calling about the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009. A few callers were not yet aware that the Bill was passed by the full House last Friday evening but they still wanted the Congressman to know of their perspective.

Well not only was the workload quiet, but so was the office. With a bit more of a flexible schedule, our office was nearly empty at times. My intern colleagues were able to spread out a bit and staff different parts of the fort, as two of the Legislative Affairs staffers so aptly described it to me today. A bit less stress of the past week was a pleasant change of pace.

Star Spangle Banner

The House is off this week for Independence Day. Ironically, I ventured down to the Flag room today to drop off a flag to be flown in honor of a Constituent's birthday. Every Congressional office can make requests to have a flag flown over the Capital for special occasions. The flag, after being flown over the Capital for a period of time is then brought down, marked for the time and honor it flew and then returned to the office that had placed the request. Then, normally at least, the office arranges to have the flag delivered tot he group party that requested the flag be flown in the first place.

The office was quite bare today. At least 2 L.A.'s (Legislative Assistants) will be gone every day of this week. Also, the last remnants of the American Clean Energy and Security Act emerged today with the calls of either joyful or betrayed remarks commenting over the Congressman's vote.

Oh well, hopefully this week the office can catch up a tad with the mail.

A New Bill for a New Era?

I'm still recovering from last week's events. Friday did not fail in being the climax of the phone calls from concerned constituents. IN fact, we were so consumed by the massive amount of calls, several of the permanent staffers had to resort back to their intern days and help staff the phones. And when the staffers left their desks, even for a second, we interns had to spring up and take over their spots in order to receive the new incoming calls.

But I shouldn't complain. For the first time in my internship I was asked to help fold outgoing mail. This task may seem a bit tedious as it only requires the folder to make sure that the paper is folded in an accordion fashion with the name and address visible from the outside of the letter. However, this task does hinder one from answering the phones because the glue on the hands can make the receiver very sticky. But seriously, this was an important step towards completing the cycle of communications to/through/from the office. Sticky hands and all!

Around 4:30, the Congressman gave a speech on the floor of the House during general debate. During this speech, he publicly endorsed the bill. Until then, we were unsure how the Congressman was planning on voting because of the many consequences the bill would have.

Also, for anyone who might have an interest in politics, there is a great site from the Library of Congress named Thomas. It can be located on the web with the URL www.Thomas.gov. It gives an un-biased summary of every bill that passes before Congress, and it helps constituents weed out fact from propaganda heard on the local news.

Cap and Trade - Day 2

Today is the day before the BIG DAY around our office, or better known as the day before the ACES bill is scheduled to be voted on.

I started off the first half of the day staffing the front office once again. I was out there all morning as chaos brewed and simmered down again. Several times there were multiple meetings occurring at the same time. And then even more people were showing up early for their appointments. I was unable to quickly attend to everything because I frequently had the receiver of the phone stuffed into my ear.

Tomorrow is the last day of the session before the annual 4th of July recess so I do expect the pace and volume to continue at least through Friday.

I know that the entire staff have been under this same pressure so that after day two of an avalanche of constant calls, I can honestly say that we're ready for some rest.

ACES ACT vs CAP and TRADE Congressman Moore's office, this is....

Mark Wednesday, June 24th, as 'Day One' of American Clean Energy and Security Act phone raid. Many constituents got word that this bill, H.R. 2454 (yes I know the bill number by memory, as well as its surnames: Cap and Trade, Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES) of 2009 or as many callers refer to it as "the bill that will raise my taxes..."). I learned through hard work that when such a controversial bill makes its way to the floor, the amount of concern and panic that arises can take its toll on the staffers.

And because H.R. 2454 is looming large and is critically important our other duties in the office seemed to come to a near halt. I know that for me, staffing the phone impacted my ability to answer mail today because there was virtually no pause in between the rings.

What is ACES or Cap and Trade anyway? Basically, it is legislation that develops an approach to control pollutionby providing economic incentives for companies who successful cut (or cap) their pollution output or to penalize companies that don't cut theirs, to pay into the fund pool (trade). That's why sometimes H.R. 2454 is also referred to as an emissions tax. While not a new idea, it was heavily debated during the 2008 Presidential campaign and is being promoted by the Obama Administration.

As I try to gather information about the constituents' opinions and recommendations, by listening to them I also tried to assure them that the Congressman does value their communication. It is also our policy to let all Constitutents know that the Congressman is still gathering information to base his vote and my cast it either way, as he was, as of today, still considering of the bill.


Whew, this is the first of a 3 day campaign. Time for a good night's rest.

Reversed Roles

Today was the second day of the new internship tenure. I remember that not too long ago when it was my first day and I had to rely on my fellow, more experienced, interns to teach me the ropes. It as kind of odd to be in the reverse role today as I gave a brief tour of the Cannon building as I led the new intern to the office in charge of House Badges, as well as the Capitol. I showed him how to reach the Cloak Room and several alternative routes in case large crowds blocked one path or another. I also pointed out the CVC in case he ever either asked for or was interested in leading a tour into the Capitol. I also decided to show the new intern a short cut I found to a Committee's main office and consequently the House Gallery.

For a large portion of time that I was in the office today, I was upfront at the receptionist's desk. I've been up there before, but only for fleeting moments. It's different up there for some reason. We interns are still expected to fulfill our duties (primarily handling the phones and working on the mail) but handling different piles of mail felt a bit out of place in the welcoming reception area. I found myself tidying the pile I was working on every other letter because I felt the mismanaged pile would reflect poorly if a Constituent walked into the office, or worse, the Congressman should view the odd way mail was being sorted in several different piles. Also, because the front office is out of the line of sight of one of the side rooms, the other interns pick up the duty of phones for the most part. I believe this helps the person out front stay free in case a visitor enters the office.

It was a good feeling to be able to be the person in front of the office, and a responsibility that I have a new found deeper respect for.

After a Relaxing Weekend....a lot is going on

Suffice it to say, even when Congress is not in official session, the offices of elected officials have plenty to keep busy with. The start of this work week began with the House in recess (until tomorrow) but lots of activity on many levels kept us hopping.

The public demonstrations over last weekend's election in Iran are now generating communications with Iranian-Americans. While we've only had a few calls to the office from Constituents, we're hearing that other Representatives offices are fielding a number of calls and visits, and we've been watching the local news coverage of a small number of local demonstrations (mainly in front of the White House and an office associated with Iranian officials). It's a little odd to me, to think that we want to promote democracy by the people of other countries, yet there are people who want our government to be involved. I realize this is not a new phenomena, just new for me to observe from this vantage point.

In between several office supply runs, the number of calls about health care reform continue to come in at a good clip. It definitely is lining up to be the issue of the summer.

We also got to welcome our newest Intern to the office today. It's kinda nice not being the 'newest kid on the block' anymore. I should also comment that I think we have a very strong team of Interns and I appreciate the different backgrounds and perspectives that we all bring to the table.

Finally, on a very serious note, the worst accident in the history of the Metro occurred. At rush hour two Metro-trains collided, one running into the other that was at a complete stop, and they are reporting 4 people were killed and about 70 others were wounded. This happened on a Red Line train in the North East section of the City. So that you know, when something like this happens, in a city and community like this, it really has a profound effect on everyone. I'm sure that it is on the national news, so be sure to check it out for the latest.

End of the Week Blues

Although I was only in the office for two days this week, it wasn't hard not notice the equipment mishaps that we were painfully experiencing. Before I started my internship, one of the 3 office printers had broken down; last week, while I was in the office, number 2 went out of order; and yesterday, the 3rd and final printer found a sporting time to act up. Mind you, this means the printer kept us on edge with constant paperjams just as the 80 odd page first draft of the Democratic Health Plan was being published. Luckily, the printer was functioning just well enough to get a copy printed as well as a few other required items.

Not only did the printer struggle throughout the day, but so did the server. For a period of time the server was completely down, leaving those of us who were working with the mailing system completely offline. The office staff were unable to open, update or save any information on the server for nearly an hour. At this point it was all that we could do but look at each other and wonder, what next?

I guess even government is affected by tech mishaps!

The day had a highly unusual feel because there were only 3 interns at the office today, including myself. 2 staffers were also out. This led one of my fellow interns to be able to sit at one of the staffers desk for the day which allowed the rest of us to have a bit more elbow room. Unfortunately, that meant there were only two of us to handle the phones for periods when the 3rd intern was not at the desk (he was sent on several errands throughout the day causing him to be out of the office). Let's just say that I had the good fortune to get to know Congressman Moore's constituents slightly better =D.

All in all it was an exciting week, albeit short and rather busy.

Back to Work

I'm officially a high school graduate and I headed back to work after three days of last minute rehearsals, celebrations and family. And what a day to come back to!

As you may be reading in your local newspapers, Congress is at work on a major overhaul and rewrite of health care. I've mentioned previously that the 'trigger' health care approach is among our most frequently communicated issues from constituents. So today I had a chance to attend a planning meeting for staff from Blue Dog Democrat offices.

In case you aren't familiar with that term, it refers to a group of 52 Democratic Members of the United States House of Representatives who are moderate or conservative on fiscal matters. Representative Moore is a member of this coalition, hence my chance to participate in this briefing.

The focus of our briefing was around how to be consistent in our communications with our Constitutents. While every Representative has their own voice and perspective, there is general agreement with coalitions, such as the Blue Dog Democrats, that it is helpful for members to coordinate messaging when there are such similiarities. This helps strengthen the potential for the perspective of those Members to be recognized and adopted. As staff, we were able to discuss those similiarities and learn where resources (e.g. Fact sheets, background documents, etc.) are located to assist us in communicating with our Constituents. It's pretty interesting on many levels to participate in an event like this; From meeting other Interns and Legislative Assistants to developing a better understanding of the rationale for the positions that Representative Moore takes on specific issues, such as health care.

Throughout the day I had numerous errands and made several trips from the office to the Cloak Room. We were also quite busy handling what seems like an increasing quantity of calls (many about the pending health care legislation) that we're receiving. The day had a rather frenzied pace to it because of a procedural process that the House Republicans deployed. Frustrated in their minority party status, unable to significantly impact the majority and Presidential agendas, the House Republicans have been submitting amendment requests to literally every piece of legislation on the agenda. This is an attempt to slow down, if not stall, the deliberations on legislation that they oppose, such as many programs that require new or expanded funding.

The result of this tactic is that today, June 18, the House of Representatives had a marathon of votes called on nearly 40 amendments. This essentially tied up Congressman Moore from 10:30 until 6:30 today. This also explains why we were busy carrying materials back and forth to the Congressman in the Cloak Room.

This is a fascinating place to be; But it is even more so when you understand the reasons behind the activity you deal with

Thanks for being patient with me while I've been out celebrating; but it's good to be back.

A Quick Day

Just a very short post today, as I had graduation events at my high school throughout the morning and needed to leave a bit early. Incidentally, as in all jobs, the office staff are very supportive of a few absences if you communicate early and often with them. They understand commitments such as my high school graduation and have excused me to attend them.

While a shortened day for me, it was not a slow one. There was plenty of constituent activity and Congress was in a rare, Friday session. All of this put together made the pace of the day very fast.

What Is a Trigger Anyway?

The issue that is top of mind for the overwhelming majority of Constituents is the push being made by the Obama Administration for health care reform and the legislation to enable it. Both the pro and con sides are calling our office in significant numbers to advocate for their position.

The specific approach that is being discussed is referred to as a 'trigger' clause. What this means is that the the legislation being proposed would require private health care insurers to come up with new policies to cover more Americans. Failing to do this, the legislation would provide for a 'trigger' that enacts public provided health care insurance.

Callers run the range from those who are quite emotional about the issue, to some who have done great research into the need and implications of such legislation, to those who are connecting because of an organized effort by a group that they belong to who are conducting a mass appeal campaign.

On a quick side note: Happy Birthday Washington, DC! It was on June 11, 1800 that the federal government gave the newly formed city of Washington, District of Columbia the designation as the Capital of the United States government.

All By Myself...

I should mention that although the core intent and purpose of my Internship is to learn how a Representative's office works and to serve my United States Congressman, I am gaining more by participating in a college independent study. I am registered for this through Johnson County Community College, which happens to be in Representative Dennis Moore's District, in Overland Park, Kansas. Throughout this summer I'll be sharing the responsibilities of my course and my response to them.

Onto my day. Due to commitments and assignments the other Interns that I work with were at other locations this morning. Consequently I enjoyed the opportunity to handle a huge variety of calls and tasks. I had my first 'repeat calls' from Constituents and am now appreciating the professional relationships that can be built with them. It also struck me just how diverse the opinions of the people back home can be. Calls one after another, on both sides of the issue, came in fast and furious throughout the morning.

After lunch, with everyone back, I ran a few errands around the Capitol. I had the opportunity to deliver an important document to the Congressman while he was in a sub-committee meeting on small businesses. That might seem like an inconsequential task, but honestly, it was exciting to be a part of the process.

The next several days my posts will be brief as I will be rehearsing for, and participating in my high school graduation ceremony.

What a great start to a summer to remember, and not alone!

Rain, Rain and Calls Galore

Today was one of the stormiest weather days of my internship yet. While we've had an abundance of rain the past three weeks, the skies opened up while on my way into the Office this morning. As I've mentioned before, when the weather is volatile, traffic snarls and my commute, well, it just goes hawywire!

As you might have guessed, I arrived a wee bit late, after traveling over an hour + to work. I actually got an early start to my commute, as I stopped by my local polling place to cast my vote in the Virginia Governor's Democratic Primary. In case you haven't been following it, the Governor's race has been the focus of national media attention, as one of the first major tests of the electorate in the post-2008 Presidential campaign.

So after finally making it in, the morning shaped up to be extremely interesting, and challenging, in handling constituent phone calls. I fielded quite a few calls from constituents who were expressing their disappointment with the current state of our economy and the President's and Congressman's actions to address it. The callers are passionate in expressing their opinions and they all deserve to have them heard. Although they were at times frustrated with the process of how they communicate with a Representative's office, frankly I was impressed with how nice and patient most of the callers were. As I've said before, in order for representative government to work, you must have good communication with those that you're representing.

One small note, we received a number of 'smart power strips' that help minimize the electrical current draw and help us to be a more eco-friendly Congressional office. Hence we spent some time today finding the best place to install and connect them. Believe it or not, it was a pretty good chore!
Maybe tomorrow the rain will subside and the skies will show some sign of blue again!

A Capitol Scare

Lest anyone forget today was a reminder of the times we live in. As I was on errands inside the Capitol a rush of activity alerted me to the fact that my trip was far from ususal. The Capitol Police (yes, the United States Capitol has it's own police force) began a hurried evacuation of the new Capitol Visitors Center because of an unclaimed/suspicious package. Thousands of tourists, staff and Congressional personnel left quickly, in a very well managed exodus.

The standard operating procedure is to dispose (e.g. 'blow up') the suspicious item, which is what was done with the package left unattended in the entrance way.

In other news I attended my second weekly all staff meeting in the Office. It's interesting to hear about the many events that are scheduled for Representative Moore and how the staff are involved in the researching, briefing, coordination and support of those events. What's especially impressive, is with all of the variety of events, responsibilities and commitments, that it comes off so well with only minor hiccups.