F.A.R.M. Bill and introducing Lliam Morrison

This week one of our two legislative affairs coordinators (LA’s) asked me to read over the F.A.R.M. bill and summarize the bill into specific line items that tell the Congressman where every dollar will go. The project took me about four days but I could not ask for a better experience. I felt like a watch dog as I read through the entire bill consisting of roughly 80 pages with an estimated 150 funding items totaling nearly 860 billion dollars. I did my best to create an excel sheet that broke down every service and cost committed within the bill. Once I completed the bill, Lliam invited me to share with him my thoughts concerning the services provided within the bill. I expressed concern with how much money was being spent in certain fields and he helped me resolve some of them. He then prepared the final summary for Congressman Salmon.

 

When being asked to perform duties like this it is imperative that you work quickly and accurately. To avoid fatigue and burnout, I took on additional assignments and juggled all of them so that I could get some fresh air. It was also important to literally get some fresh air by going on short frequent walks. By doing all of this, I stayed fresh and motivated and completed the assignment in a reasonable amount of time.

 

Now is a good time to introduce Lliam Morrison. Lliam is from Texas and certainly has the personality of a Texan. He is tall and broad in his shoulders. His personality is such that his opinion does matter and if necessary, he can definitely care less of what people think. Lliam is bound for greatness but is currently doing his time in order to climb the latter. Lliam provided some great insights that proved beneficial throughout the summer. I appreciated his help.

Describing a typical day at my internship and introducing Kristine Michalson

As a clerical assistant, my daily responsibilities were very constant. Each morning I would come in and begin listening and logging voice messages from constituents who called after hours. We averaged anywhere between seven to seventeen calls each evening. Next, I would log all the faxes that were sent by political groups, private companies, political advocates, and constituents. This duty could be tedious as we received between 150-200 faxes each day. Following these two tasks, I would sort and distribute the newspaper to everyone in the office. After a couple of weeks I began to recognize who wanted what and by mid-summer, I never needed to ask who wanted certain newspapers. 

Once the above tasks were accomplished, the time reached 10am and I would either prepare for a morning tour of the Capitol or I would take on a research assignment from someone in the back office.  Often time this meant receiving, sorting, and filing correspondence mail, scan contacts into MS Office, perform research on upcoming votes, work on legislative House bills and resolutions in conjunction with the Chief of Staff, perform constituent case work, answer phones, and perform data entry on excel.

While doing all of this, I would also stop on a moment’s notice to answer the phones. In doing so, I would provide assistance in communicating with the public and members of the media and consistently and clearly explaining the Congressman's policies to constituents who call in. My days were busy and I very rarely looked at the clock. Before I could grab lunch, I looked at the clock and saw that it was almost time to go home.

I want to conclude this blog by introducing Kristine Michalson. Kristine is the communications director who handles all media inquiries and this often means it is her job to protect the Congressman from aggressive and often times deceiving media personnel who want nothing more than to smear the Congressman with embarrassment. She was amazing and I probably appreciated her the most as she was one who gradually increased my responsibilities throughout the summer. Whether it was trust or sheer bravery, Kristine allowed me the opportunities to excel in the area of the media.

 

Second week, Memorial Day, Introducing Olivia Vickers

Diary date: May 31

We had Monday off for Memorial Day and I took advantage of living in Washington D.C. on such a historic holiday. I started my day at Arlington cemetery where President Obama spoke to a couple thousand people. Arlington Cemetery was home to the Confederate general, Robert E. Lee. President Lincoln confiscated the several thousand acre plantation and dedicated it as a war cemetery.  This historic site is home to over 200,000 tombs, including our 35^th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy.

Following the speech, I made my way over to Pennsylvania Avenue for the annual Memorial Day parade. The parade was a must see according to websites offering advice on what to do in D.C. on Memorial Day but I became tired and uninterested after watching high school marching bands play the same three songs for an hour straight.

To regain my energy and interest in D.C., I ventured over to Ford’s Theatre and toured the very grounds that our 16^th President, Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. The museum is free to enter and a must see. The basement containing all original artifacts gives off a reverent feel that left me a bit emotional. After exploring the basement, I finished my stay by going upstairs into the actual theatre. I took a moment to reflect on the event and called it a day.

I now want to briefly talk about the Congressman’s scheduler, Olivia Vickers. Olivia is from Texas and is one of the nicest ladies you will over meet. I honestly do not think she has a mean bone in her body. She is always smiling which is an attraction in itself and she is always walking around the office with a chipper attitude. I’m telling you, the office would not be so warm and welcoming without her.

 

My first week and introducing Jenell Biggs

Diary Date: May 27

I just finished my first week and it was a blast! Every one of these guys in this office is great to work with and most importantly, no one seems like they are out to undercut their colleagues. The entire team took time throughout out the day to reach out and introduce themselves and offer assistant. I introduced myself the best I could and shared why I came to D.C. and what I wanted to accomplish and all the staff members began paving a way for me to accomplish my goals. I was real worried coming in that there would be egocentric people that cared nothing about anything except for their own career goals. I am lucky that this is not the case in Rayburn office 2349.

My supervisor is Jenell Biggs from Gilbert Arizona. This is Jenell’s first full time job working for a government official but she is no stranger to the political arena as her dad is currently the President of the Arizona Senate. Jenell is one of the individuals who you admire from the beginning. She is steadfast in her principles and unwavering in her standards. I have full confidence that we will get a long great.

After a couple of days learning the complicated layout of the chain of Capitol buildings, the office began sending me on frequent assignments and when I say frequent, I mean like four to five errands a day. I enjoy running these errands because it gives me a chance to get out of the office and see the beautiful Capitol building. I’m sure I will get tired throughout the next 11 weeks but I honestly do not see myself getting burned out by running all over the place because I have little time to tour on the weekdays so this is my chance. Plus, I have a badge that clears me to go back stage.