Cloak Room, Hearing and Staff Meeting

Another day of firsts for me. I arrived a bit early today, before the office was officially open, which gave me a chance to get organized and ready for work. Correspondence was the order of the morning and I think our team of interns made great progress to actually get through the majority of the mail waiting for processing.

About mid-morning, our first outside of office activity involved retrieving a replacement water tank for one that we had borrowed from a neighboring office. While this might sound like a mundane task to some, it is enjoyable to get to see other areas of the Longworth House Office Building where a virtual supply warehouse serves the entire House side of Congress. During the 'water run' we also got to interact with our peers in other offices, so it's a chance to see how different/similiar other Members facilities are run.

Shortly after this first errand was wrapped up, I got a chance to accompany one of the Legislative Assistants (we refer to them as LA's) to the House of Representatives Democratic Cloak Room. This is a Member's area just off the House Floor, where they come from their work in the chamber, to take calls, prepare their remarks and participate in party coordinating activities. It's pretty interesting to know that this is a little known, but extremely important, place where important discussions that impact votes and the actions of Members.

I had a terrific afternoon, by being invited to attend my first actual U.S. House of Representatives Hearing. Staff in our office were lucky to be invited to hear four former student leaders speak at the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission hearing held today. "Twenty Years After the Crackdown: Tiananmen Square and Human Rights in China" was held in room 2127 at the Rayburn House Office Building and was just a fascinating experience.

There has been quite a bit of press about this infamous anniversary, so to be able to be in the room, with actual participants in the event, was pretty amazing. One of the speakers was severely injured during the Tiananmen Square fight and wound up having both of his legs amputated. Thus it made their comments that much more powerful and authentic.

After the Hearing, day full of new experiences, was topped off by participating in my first office staff meeting. Congressman Dennis Moore and the entire staff met to discuss the important issues that he would likely encounter this week in the House (and the plans to coordinate briefing him on them) as well as his schedule and other office matters. While brief, the meeting moved quickly and we covered a lot of ground.