For the past month I have worked in the office of Congressman Jason Altmire. It has been an amazing experience, especially for a Civics teacher. I have always tried to emphasize for you (my students) the relevance of what we are learning in class and why it is important for us to know and understand it. After working for a month in a Congressional Office and seeing the work of the Legislative Branch firsthand, I'm even more convinced that it is important, as a citizen, to understand how our government works and how the Constitution shapes that work. I'll now be able to convey this importance to you and to my future students in a much more real way, and my future lessons will be enriched with many more examples from firsthand experience. Though I had never written a blog before writing this one, I've really enjoyed the opportunity to communicate with you through this medium, and to tell you about what I have been learning in real time. For my final entry in my blog, I wanted to share with you the answers to a series of questions I asked Congressman Altmire during my last week in his office. I hope that by reading his answers, you'll continue to add to your understanding of why it is important to know both how our government works and what it can do.
On Wednesday, July 16, my second-to-last day in Congressman Altmire's office, I walked over to the steps of the Capitol Building to have my picture taken with the Congressman by the official House photographer. On the walk back to his office in Longworth, I asked Congressman Altmire the following questions. The first question I asked him was, "What are you most proud of?" He answered that since he has been in office, he has been able to pass thirteen different legislative initiatives. Four of them deal with veterans and military families. Some of these include expanding and insuring treatment and screening of traumatic brain injuries for returning veterans, expanding business opportunities for veterans who are small business owners, providing tax relief to military families who are facing financial hardship due to multiple deployments, and extending Family Medical Leave Act benefits for all military guard and reserve families so that they can take leave time from work to spend time with an injured veteran family member or have time to prepare before their family member leaves for duty. Among the 11 additional bills or amendments authored by Altmire that have been passed by the House is a bill guaranteeing that wounded military veterans can keep their enlistment bonuses. He was also part of the Conference Committee that helped negotiate and approve the final version of the recent GI bill, which will make the single largest investment in college financial assistance to veterans since the 1944 GI Bill. I asked Congressman Altmire why he had a particular interest in veterans' issues and if he has a specific personal tie to veterans. He explained that his (our) Congressional District (PA-04) has the 4th largest amount of veterans in the entire country. So, as the Representative for this district, he feels he has an obligation to work on behalf of veterans. He also likes these measures because they help real people in real ways.
I then asked Congressman Altmire, "What frustrates you the most?" (His answer ties closely with what I taught you about how a bill has to pass both the House and the Senate in the same form before it can go to the President to become a law, so pay attention). He explained that in order to end debate on a bill in the Senate so that the Senators can vote on the bill, you need 60 votes (called "cloture"). He said that the House sent four different bills over to the Senate where they only got 59 votes. He explained (and I'm paraphrasing here since I didn't have my notebook with me), "So we're doing stuff but it dies in the Senate. And then the voters ask why Congress is not getting anything done and we've got to explain it to them." It's also difficult when the President is from a different political party than the majority in Congress, because it makes it more likely that bills that do reach the President will get vetoed.
His answer provided a perfect segue to my next question: "Do you think the government works the way the founders intended?" He answered emphatically, "Yes. I do think so. And I think that it should work this way." He went on to explain that the House of Representatives is designed to be closely tied to the people - (again, paraphrasing) "We're supposed to do what the people want us to do. The Senate is supposed to balance that out. The process is supposed to be slow and deliberative." Hence, although it is frustrating, he is ok with how the system is set up. The Senate has been serving its function, not necessarily by not passing the laws they get from the House, but by providing balance and by making the process more deliberative.
While I worked in Congressman Altmire's office, I got to see firsthand how our government works and what it can (and sometimes cannot) do. From Congressman Altmire's answers to my questions, you can see that he's proud that he's done a lot to help real people, particularly veterans. He gets frustrated by the nature of how the process is designed, yet he understands and appreciates that design, and even agrees that it should be that slow, deliberative process designed by
the founders. He understands that it is in the nature of the design of his office that as a Representative, he should specifically work to help his constituents, many of whom are veterans.
At the beginning of this blog entry, I wrote that I believe it is important that citizens understand how our government works and what it can do. The examples and answers I explained above really drive this point home. Our government is not some far away group of people whose job descriptions you just need to memorize for a test. The government can help real people in real ways. But as citizens, you should understand that the process was designed to be slow. It's up to our Representatives and Senators to work within that process to accomplish legislation that helps us.
After reading this blog, I hope all of you also understand that even though you are thirteen and fourteen years old, you can take a more active role in this process. You can write a letter to your Congressman. It can be as simple as asking the Congressman to support or oppose a particular bill. (I know from firsthand experience that these very short support/oppose letters are the ones the office likes best. They are easier to respond to more quickly and are easier to log into their record system). You can also keep yourself informed by reading the newspaper, by listening to the radio, and by watching the news. You can volunteer to be part of a political campaign. You can make sure you understand the history behind the design of our
government, such that when someone complains about the Electoral College, you can explain why the framers created it in the first place. You'll also be able to explain to them why we have Representatives and Senators and why each office is designed they way it is. When you turn 18, you can vote - and you'll be prepared to vote. And yes, your one vote does make a difference.
I have so many ideas about how to incorporate what I've learned this summer into the classroom. One project I'm thinking about doing next school year is asking the students to write letters to Congressman Altmire. Now, we won't actually send all 125 letters (since I know how much work it is just to answer one!), but what we might do is trade letters with a partner and try to write a response letter ourselves. I learned so much from trying to write response letters to constituents and I'd like my future students to learn the same lessons I did. In particular, I learned what a difficult balance it is to write a letter that is satisfying to a constituent without being able to explain the Congressman's exact position on a bill. We'll also be able to discuss this exercise and learn about the benefits and costs of responding to constituents in this way. Then we might have the other Civics teachers judge a smaller batch of letters (if they agree!) and we'll send five letters, one from each class, to Congressman Altmire's office, where they will respond to them. Another idea I'm thinking about is holding a mock Committee Meeting - either a Mark-Up Meeting or a Hearing. The Mark-Up Meeting would provide good opportunities for debate. I also might have an assignment where students have to write a "Memo" to the Congressman explaining a particular bill and why the Congressman should cosponsor that bill. I had to do this very assignment, and I learned a lot just by trying to make my sentences as succinct as possible in order to fit the explanation on one page. As the students write this memo, they'll learn how to use http://thomas.loc.gov to research different bills and their status. I also might try more to use C-SPAN in the classroom. I know that Congressman Altmire often gives a "one-minute" speech on Wednesday mornings at 10 a.m. after he attends the Speaker's Breakfast. The purpose of all of these lessons will be to learn about how government works by participating in these simulations (though of course these simulations are actually pretty real since I did them myself!).
If, after reading my blog, you have any suggestions for classroom activities, please let me know. Also, I now have some contacts at the House of Representatives, so if you have any questions in the future, e-mail me at mitnickjs@svsd.net and I'd be happy to pass the question along to a member of Congressman Altmire's staff. In fact, the Legislative Director said he'd be happy to answer any future questions from my students. I said, "you might be sorry for that offer because I'll most certainly take you up on it." He then responded, "That's ok. I'm good at delegating." The press secretary and the other legislative assistants in the office laughed. But honestly, everyone in the office did say they would be happy to answer questions.
I feel truly lucky to have been given this fantastic opportunity to work in the office of Congressman Jason Altmire, to observe the work of Congress in person, and to actually participate in that work. During my time there, among many other things, I wrote a number of letters to constituents (which were approved and will actually be mailed to them), I prepared questions for the Congressman to ask at two different hearings (he asked one of my questions at the second hearing - very exciting!), and I wrote two memos to suggest that he cosponsor two bills. I wrote a draft of the Congressman's written testimony to submit for one of the hearings (which will become part of the actual Congressional Record!), I did background research to compile statistics on school districts in the Congressional District and whether they met AYP or not and why (the office will use this
research next year when re-examining NCLB), I got to observe the floor of Congress three different times, and I went to two Committee Hearings and one Committee Mark-Up Meeting. I was given a tour of the Capitol Building by Congressman Altmire himself, and I got to talk with and learn extensively from the staff who work "behind-the-scenes" in the Congressional Office.
I am grateful to everyone at the James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation for making this Congressional Fellowship possible. I am grateful to Congressman Altmire for allowing me to become a part of his office and for being so generous in giving me a fantastic historical tour of the Capitol Building and in answering my many questions. Finally, I am grateful to all of the wonderful staff in Congressman Altmire's office for being so patient in answering my enormous number of questions (I told them that I asked more questions during the past month than I have in my whole life) and for being so welcoming to me. I look forward with excitement to sharing what I have learned with my students in years to come. This experience has truly made a difference in my life as a teacher, and as a citizen.
Friday, August 8, 2008
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Special Order Hours
(Note - There will be one more final blog entry after this one. It will be entitled "Final Thoughts.")
On Monday night, July 14, I got to see something that had not been done in Congress since 1997, and it was Congressman Altmire's idea. When Congress is in session, after the time for legislative business is over (when they are done voting on bills for that day), they hold something called "Special Order Hours". These hours are in the evening and give the Congressmen the chance to speak on the floor of the House about issues that are important to them. Usually, the Republicans get one hour and then the Democrats get the other hour. During these two hours, each Representative gets 5 minutes to speak at a time. Because the political parties speak separately, the comments are usually very partisan.
Congressman Altmire remembered that in 1997, when Newt Gingrich was Speaker of the House, they did Special Order Hours differently. This is where Congressman Altmire got the idea for what he organized on Monday night. Rising gas prices and drilling for oil are two of the most significant issues facing the country right now. Congressman Altmire wanted to give Representatives the opportunity to have a dialogue about these issues, and to debate ways to address them. So from 8-10 p.m. on Monday night July 14, around 10-12 Representatives had an open debate for two hours. What was unique about this debate was that it was essentially un-timed - each Representative spoke as long as he needed to. They alternated sides - so one Republican Representative spoke and then one Democratic Representative spoke. The only timing that did occur was that a staff person for each party used a stopwatch to measure the amount of time each party had spoken. By the end of the two hours, each party had spoken for a total of an hour each. A Republican Representative moderated the first hour and Congressman Altmire moderated the second hour. What this means is that he called on the Members to speak and facilitated the discussion.
What was exciting for me was that I was one of the only people watching in person from the gallery. The other members of Congressman Altmire's staff were watching from home on C-SPAN since the Special Order Hours occurred so late at night. But I couldn't pass up the opportunity to observe this unique event in person. Congressman Altmire later explained to me what he did to organize the evening. Even though the Special Order Hours were open to any Representative, Congressman Altmire specifically asked certain Democratic Representatives to be a part of it. The Republican moderator did the same by asking certain Republican Representatives to take part. Representative Altmire asked these specific Representatives to be a part of the dialogue because these people had specialties in different aspects of the issue. For example, one Representative knew about oil speculation and its impact on gas prices. Another Representative was head of a Congressional Committee that dealt with energy and energy policy. Hence, the comments that these Congressmen made were more factual and constructive.
For two hours, different Representatives took turns speaking. When they spoke, they often referred to large charts and graphs that had been pre-prepared. Each party had a large pile of these charts leaning against the wall behind them. Before it was their turn to speak, they looked through the pile against the wall to find the appropriate chart to make their case. They set this chart on an easel next to them as they spoke.
What struck me the most about this evening was how respectfully all the Congressmen were acting towards each other. Each side disagreed with what the other side was saying at times, and at times the comments did become heated, but overall it was respectful and productive. When Representatives speak about specific bills during Legislative Business, they usually talk about the merits of the bill and whether they support or oppose that particular bill. This Special Order Hours session was different because it was less a debate about a particular bill and more a dialogue about what was causing rising gas prices, what options existed to confront the crisis, and the costs and benefits of each option. I honestly found myself being persuaded by each side at different times.
I believe that each Congressman who participated had the best interests of his constituents at heart. It was fascinating for me to see, in person, how each Representative presented their arguments regarding the different methods of addressing the energy crisis. The "un-timed debate" format worked particularly well for facilitating a dialogue. I am excited to see what legislative measures will appear in the future as the result of it. Most of all, I appreciated how the different format encouraged the Congressmen to present their arguments, but in a constructive way, since they could talk back and forth with each other without worrying about a five-minute time limit. It was my impression that these Congressmen understood that more could be accomplished by taking turns talking "with" each other, rather than by simply talking "at" each other.
On Monday night, July 14, I got to see something that had not been done in Congress since 1997, and it was Congressman Altmire's idea. When Congress is in session, after the time for legislative business is over (when they are done voting on bills for that day), they hold something called "Special Order Hours". These hours are in the evening and give the Congressmen the chance to speak on the floor of the House about issues that are important to them. Usually, the Republicans get one hour and then the Democrats get the other hour. During these two hours, each Representative gets 5 minutes to speak at a time. Because the political parties speak separately, the comments are usually very partisan.
Congressman Altmire remembered that in 1997, when Newt Gingrich was Speaker of the House, they did Special Order Hours differently. This is where Congressman Altmire got the idea for what he organized on Monday night. Rising gas prices and drilling for oil are two of the most significant issues facing the country right now. Congressman Altmire wanted to give Representatives the opportunity to have a dialogue about these issues, and to debate ways to address them. So from 8-10 p.m. on Monday night July 14, around 10-12 Representatives had an open debate for two hours. What was unique about this debate was that it was essentially un-timed - each Representative spoke as long as he needed to. They alternated sides - so one Republican Representative spoke and then one Democratic Representative spoke. The only timing that did occur was that a staff person for each party used a stopwatch to measure the amount of time each party had spoken. By the end of the two hours, each party had spoken for a total of an hour each. A Republican Representative moderated the first hour and Congressman Altmire moderated the second hour. What this means is that he called on the Members to speak and facilitated the discussion.
What was exciting for me was that I was one of the only people watching in person from the gallery. The other members of Congressman Altmire's staff were watching from home on C-SPAN since the Special Order Hours occurred so late at night. But I couldn't pass up the opportunity to observe this unique event in person. Congressman Altmire later explained to me what he did to organize the evening. Even though the Special Order Hours were open to any Representative, Congressman Altmire specifically asked certain Democratic Representatives to be a part of it. The Republican moderator did the same by asking certain Republican Representatives to take part. Representative Altmire asked these specific Representatives to be a part of the dialogue because these people had specialties in different aspects of the issue. For example, one Representative knew about oil speculation and its impact on gas prices. Another Representative was head of a Congressional Committee that dealt with energy and energy policy. Hence, the comments that these Congressmen made were more factual and constructive.
For two hours, different Representatives took turns speaking. When they spoke, they often referred to large charts and graphs that had been pre-prepared. Each party had a large pile of these charts leaning against the wall behind them. Before it was their turn to speak, they looked through the pile against the wall to find the appropriate chart to make their case. They set this chart on an easel next to them as they spoke.
What struck me the most about this evening was how respectfully all the Congressmen were acting towards each other. Each side disagreed with what the other side was saying at times, and at times the comments did become heated, but overall it was respectful and productive. When Representatives speak about specific bills during Legislative Business, they usually talk about the merits of the bill and whether they support or oppose that particular bill. This Special Order Hours session was different because it was less a debate about a particular bill and more a dialogue about what was causing rising gas prices, what options existed to confront the crisis, and the costs and benefits of each option. I honestly found myself being persuaded by each side at different times.
I believe that each Congressman who participated had the best interests of his constituents at heart. It was fascinating for me to see, in person, how each Representative presented their arguments regarding the different methods of addressing the energy crisis. The "un-timed debate" format worked particularly well for facilitating a dialogue. I am excited to see what legislative measures will appear in the future as the result of it. Most of all, I appreciated how the different format encouraged the Congressmen to present their arguments, but in a constructive way, since they could talk back and forth with each other without worrying about a five-minute time limit. It was my impression that these Congressmen understood that more could be accomplished by taking turns talking "with" each other, rather than by simply talking "at" each other.
The Tour
(Note - The following entry is about Wednesday, July 9. It wasn't posted until now because I took a long time writing it up carefully, and I was waiting for it to be approved for posting.)
Wednesday, July 9 was a very full day for me. I already wrote in an earlier blog about the Press Conference I attended that day at which Representative Altmire and Senator Casey announced that they were planning to introduce the SAVES Act to help volunteer fire fighters and volunteer EMS organizations to confront rising gas prices. The evening of this day was perhaps the most exciting day of my whole Congressional Fellowship. That evening, I not only got to see the floor of the House of Representatives for the first time, but Congressman Altmire also gave me a personal historical tour of the Capitol Building.
For two weeks I had looked forward to seeing the floor of the House of Representatives in person. I had asked the Scheduler if she would let me know when would be a good time for me to go observe a vote on a bill, and Wednesday was the day. Around 5:30pm, the Scheduler and I accompanied Congressman Altmire on his walk from his office to the floor of the House. The Representatives were going to vote on "Suspension Bills." In class, do you remember how I taught you that in order for a bill to pass the House it only needed to have a "simple majority" (half + 1, or the minimum needed to have a majority)? Well,
Suspension Bills are different. When the Representatives vote on Suspension Bills they vote to suspend the normal rules and to adopt new rules. Under these new rules, each bill must get 2/3 to pass, and you also cannot add amendments to these bills. Because the regular rules are suspended when voting on these bills, these bills are called "Suspension Bills." Suspension Bills are usually non-controversial bills.
I got to ride in the Members elevator and go through all sorts of security because we were with the Congressman. (Members of Congress are often referred to as "Members" for short). As we were crossing the street from the Longworth Building to the Capitol Building, Congressman Altmire explained that when a vote is about to occur, the policemen keep all the walk signals green and the traffic lights on red so the Congressmen are able to walk across the street. When we were walking into the Capitol Building, Senator Hagel walked in ahead of us and he said hello to Congressman Altmire. The Scheduler took me
up into the gallery and I got to see the floor of the House of Representatives in person for the first time. This is the room where they give the State of the Union Address. When I first looked down on the floor, all the Representatives were walking around and talking with each other. It's a really special thing to see almost every member of the House on the floor. On the back of each seat on the end of every other row is a little box. This is what the Members use to vote. Each Representative has a special card they insert into this box. After they insert their card in the box, they press "yes," "no," or "present," depending on how they want to vote.
On the floor of the House in addition to the Representatives themselves, there are only a few other people that are allowed to be there. These are the respective staffs of the Speaker of the House, the Majority Leader, the Minority Leader, the Majority Whip, and the Minority Whip. The "Whip staff" passes out blue pieces of paper listing the bills that are being voted on. The Whip Staff also keep a close eye on the voting board that indicates how each of the Members has voted. This a "scoreboard" type screen located on the wall of the Gallery behind the Speaker's Chair. This screen shows the last names of all 435 Members of the House of Representatives. If a Member has the same last name as someone else, it will list their State's initials as well. Next to each name will be a green tally (yes), a red tally (no), or a yellow/orange tally (present). The Whip staff "run around the room" to try to get Members to change their votes or to try to convince Members to vote a certain way if they haven't yet voted. The scoreboard screen reminded me very much of a baseball game, which, after all, is America's pastime. When the vote is finished, the screen disappears - you can't even see where it was. It looks as though there is just fabric on the wall.
During the votes on the Suspension Bills, Congressman Altmire TWICE went up to the Gallery where I was sitting and answered my questions. He showed me his voting card and I got to examine it. He also gave me the blue paper from the Whip staff that lists the bills. Most significantly, while he was on the floor, he specifically walked around to a place where I could see him put his voting card in the box on the back of a chair to vote and looked up at me to make sure I was watching him vote.
I couldn't bring anything to write with into the Gallery, but I remember something I wanted to share with you that Congressman Altmire told me during one of the times he came up to the Gallery. When the Speaker of the House is not there, another Representative becomes "Speaker Pro Tem" (temporary Speaker). The Speaker's Chair always has to be occupied and there is only one person allowed on the Speaker's dais at one time. Congressman Altmire told me how, of all 435 Representatives, he has logged the fourth most amount of time in the Speakers Chair during this term of Congress. Congressman Altmire worked for 5 years as a staffer for former Representative Pete Peterson from Florida. He saw how presiding in the Speakers Chair worked and always wanted to do it.
Another nice thing I noticed was that Congressman Altmire at one point went up to the Congressman who was presiding in the Speaker's Chair and congratulated him. I found out later that it was this Congressman's first time in the Speaker's Chair since coming to Congress through a special election.
After legislative business was over, Congressman Altmire gave the Scheduler and me a special history tour of the Capitol Building. I knew from seeing all the history books in his office, most of which are biographies of Presidents, that Congressman Altmire loves history. This became especially clear as he took us on the tour. Since the Capitol Building was closed to public tours at that point, it was almost entirely empty. Congressman Altmire took us to Statuary Hall, which is where the House of Representatives met for about fifty years before moving to its current room. In Statuary Hall are two statues of people from every state (though these statues were not in the room when it was used as the House chamber). There is a great story about John Quincy Adams discovering a secret facet of this room. After he was President, John Quincy Adams (son of John Adams) served with distinction in the House of Representatives. He discovered that his desk was located in such a spot that he could hear the conversations of people across the room without them knowing it. He would put his
head down on his desk and pretend to be asleep, but in reality was listening to the conversations of Representatives on the other side of the room. Representative Altmire knew where the "magic" spot on the floor was and demonstrated to us. We stood where John Quincy Adams' desk was and he stood on the spot on the other side of the room where we could "overhear" him. Since the room was entirely empty except for us (quite rare since it's usually packed with tourists), it was easy to do the experiment. You could indeed hear him talk from across the room, though what you were hearing was not the sound coming from across the room. Rather, it appeared as though the sound was coming from right next to you. The echoes in this room were one of the main reasons the House had to move to a new chamber in 1857, where they are still serving today,
There is a special room in the Capitol Building called the Lyndon Baines Johnson room. LBJ is one of Congressman Altmire's favorite presidents, so he was excited to show us this room. Although the room was originally intended for the Senate Library, the first recorded tenant was the Senate Post Office, which occupied the room from 1859-1884. In 1885, the Senate Committee on the District of Columbia was assigned to this room, and used it until 1958. One important piece of history that occurred in this room was that the Senate Park Commission was established in it in 1901. The Commission had a significant effect on the development of Washington, DC as we know it today. Senator James McMillan, who persuaded the Senate to establish the Senate Park Commission in 1901, created a plan to organize the design of the city around "green parks, recreation areas, and grand public edifices." The Commission also stopped the construction of a railroad terminal on the Mall, and proposed that the area be planted with grass and lined with museums and government buildings. Union Station, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Cannon and Russell Congressional office buildings all were created under the McMillan
Plan.
Before Lyndon B. Johnson was president, he was a Senator and served as Senate Majority Leader. In 1959, when he was serving as Senate Majority Leader, Lyndon Johnson moved his leadership office from the third floor of the Senate wing to rooms S-211 and S212 (S-211 later became known as the LBJ Room). Johnson became vice President in 1961 and kept his office in the room until he took over the presidency in 1963. S-211 was Johnson's favorite room during this time. (Since
I didn't have anything to write with, I had to do a little research to fill in my memory with the above facts. So, much of the above comes from the following website):
http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:FOsIu7C5Jf0J:www.senate.gov/artandhistory/art/resources/pdf/Lyndon_B._Johnson_Room.pdf+Lyndon+Baines+Johnson+room&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us
One of the last parts of Congressman Altmire's tour was my favorite. We started at the "House" side of the Capitol Building. There is a hall that goes all the way through the Capitol Building to the Senate side - if you look left and right you can see the doors at either end. He said to us to "remember this door." We walked all the way through the Capitol almost all the way to the other side. Shortly before the other end, on the Senate side, there is a short hallway off of which were rooms that Sam Rayburn used to use. Rayburn was Speaker of the House during FDR's presidency, when Harry S Truman was Vice President. Congressman Altmire told the story of how, one day, Truman was back in one of these rooms talking with Sam Rayburn. The phone rang. Truman picked up the phone, listened for a minute, and his "face went white." Without saying anything to Rayburn, he quickly left the room and ran all the way down the hallway of the Capitol to the door Congressman Altmire had said "to remember." Congressman Altmire said "You could hear the heels of his shoes clicking on the floor as he ran." I smiled when he said this because you could tell, by using this imagery, that he appreciated the "narrative," story-telling
nature of history. He explained that when Truman got to the other side of the Capitol, which is indeed a very long hallway, he got into a car waiting to pick him up. When he got to the White House, they welcomed him there as "Mr. President." FDR had died and Truman had ascended to the Presidency. It was so neat to hear this story told right where it had happened. I looked all the way down the hallway at the other door, and I imagined hearing the clicking of Truman's shoes as he ran down the hallway.
When we left the Capitol Building, we walked down the steps outside of it. When we were part of the way down the steps, Congressman Altmire said to turn around and look up. When I did, you could see this magnificent view of the Capitol dome above you. It was clear that Congressman Altmire had a real appreciation for where he was, for the job that he was doing, and for the history of the building and the office of Representative. He told me that the first time he saw that view was when he came for his interview to be a Congressional staffer.
As we were walking back to his office, he asked me if I had any other questions. I asked him, "What would you want my students to know?" He smiled and said "Now, you're getting all serious on me." He said simply that he would want them to know that he'll try "to accomplish as much as I can while I'm here and that I'm here to help my constituents."
Wednesday, July 9 was a very full day for me. I already wrote in an earlier blog about the Press Conference I attended that day at which Representative Altmire and Senator Casey announced that they were planning to introduce the SAVES Act to help volunteer fire fighters and volunteer EMS organizations to confront rising gas prices. The evening of this day was perhaps the most exciting day of my whole Congressional Fellowship. That evening, I not only got to see the floor of the House of Representatives for the first time, but Congressman Altmire also gave me a personal historical tour of the Capitol Building.
For two weeks I had looked forward to seeing the floor of the House of Representatives in person. I had asked the Scheduler if she would let me know when would be a good time for me to go observe a vote on a bill, and Wednesday was the day. Around 5:30pm, the Scheduler and I accompanied Congressman Altmire on his walk from his office to the floor of the House. The Representatives were going to vote on "Suspension Bills." In class, do you remember how I taught you that in order for a bill to pass the House it only needed to have a "simple majority" (half + 1, or the minimum needed to have a majority)? Well,
Suspension Bills are different. When the Representatives vote on Suspension Bills they vote to suspend the normal rules and to adopt new rules. Under these new rules, each bill must get 2/3 to pass, and you also cannot add amendments to these bills. Because the regular rules are suspended when voting on these bills, these bills are called "Suspension Bills." Suspension Bills are usually non-controversial bills.
I got to ride in the Members elevator and go through all sorts of security because we were with the Congressman. (Members of Congress are often referred to as "Members" for short). As we were crossing the street from the Longworth Building to the Capitol Building, Congressman Altmire explained that when a vote is about to occur, the policemen keep all the walk signals green and the traffic lights on red so the Congressmen are able to walk across the street. When we were walking into the Capitol Building, Senator Hagel walked in ahead of us and he said hello to Congressman Altmire. The Scheduler took me
up into the gallery and I got to see the floor of the House of Representatives in person for the first time. This is the room where they give the State of the Union Address. When I first looked down on the floor, all the Representatives were walking around and talking with each other. It's a really special thing to see almost every member of the House on the floor. On the back of each seat on the end of every other row is a little box. This is what the Members use to vote. Each Representative has a special card they insert into this box. After they insert their card in the box, they press "yes," "no," or "present," depending on how they want to vote.
On the floor of the House in addition to the Representatives themselves, there are only a few other people that are allowed to be there. These are the respective staffs of the Speaker of the House, the Majority Leader, the Minority Leader, the Majority Whip, and the Minority Whip. The "Whip staff" passes out blue pieces of paper listing the bills that are being voted on. The Whip Staff also keep a close eye on the voting board that indicates how each of the Members has voted. This a "scoreboard" type screen located on the wall of the Gallery behind the Speaker's Chair. This screen shows the last names of all 435 Members of the House of Representatives. If a Member has the same last name as someone else, it will list their State's initials as well. Next to each name will be a green tally (yes), a red tally (no), or a yellow/orange tally (present). The Whip staff "run around the room" to try to get Members to change their votes or to try to convince Members to vote a certain way if they haven't yet voted. The scoreboard screen reminded me very much of a baseball game, which, after all, is America's pastime. When the vote is finished, the screen disappears - you can't even see where it was. It looks as though there is just fabric on the wall.
During the votes on the Suspension Bills, Congressman Altmire TWICE went up to the Gallery where I was sitting and answered my questions. He showed me his voting card and I got to examine it. He also gave me the blue paper from the Whip staff that lists the bills. Most significantly, while he was on the floor, he specifically walked around to a place where I could see him put his voting card in the box on the back of a chair to vote and looked up at me to make sure I was watching him vote.
I couldn't bring anything to write with into the Gallery, but I remember something I wanted to share with you that Congressman Altmire told me during one of the times he came up to the Gallery. When the Speaker of the House is not there, another Representative becomes "Speaker Pro Tem" (temporary Speaker). The Speaker's Chair always has to be occupied and there is only one person allowed on the Speaker's dais at one time. Congressman Altmire told me how, of all 435 Representatives, he has logged the fourth most amount of time in the Speakers Chair during this term of Congress. Congressman Altmire worked for 5 years as a staffer for former Representative Pete Peterson from Florida. He saw how presiding in the Speakers Chair worked and always wanted to do it.
Another nice thing I noticed was that Congressman Altmire at one point went up to the Congressman who was presiding in the Speaker's Chair and congratulated him. I found out later that it was this Congressman's first time in the Speaker's Chair since coming to Congress through a special election.
After legislative business was over, Congressman Altmire gave the Scheduler and me a special history tour of the Capitol Building. I knew from seeing all the history books in his office, most of which are biographies of Presidents, that Congressman Altmire loves history. This became especially clear as he took us on the tour. Since the Capitol Building was closed to public tours at that point, it was almost entirely empty. Congressman Altmire took us to Statuary Hall, which is where the House of Representatives met for about fifty years before moving to its current room. In Statuary Hall are two statues of people from every state (though these statues were not in the room when it was used as the House chamber). There is a great story about John Quincy Adams discovering a secret facet of this room. After he was President, John Quincy Adams (son of John Adams) served with distinction in the House of Representatives. He discovered that his desk was located in such a spot that he could hear the conversations of people across the room without them knowing it. He would put his
head down on his desk and pretend to be asleep, but in reality was listening to the conversations of Representatives on the other side of the room. Representative Altmire knew where the "magic" spot on the floor was and demonstrated to us. We stood where John Quincy Adams' desk was and he stood on the spot on the other side of the room where we could "overhear" him. Since the room was entirely empty except for us (quite rare since it's usually packed with tourists), it was easy to do the experiment. You could indeed hear him talk from across the room, though what you were hearing was not the sound coming from across the room. Rather, it appeared as though the sound was coming from right next to you. The echoes in this room were one of the main reasons the House had to move to a new chamber in 1857, where they are still serving today,
There is a special room in the Capitol Building called the Lyndon Baines Johnson room. LBJ is one of Congressman Altmire's favorite presidents, so he was excited to show us this room. Although the room was originally intended for the Senate Library, the first recorded tenant was the Senate Post Office, which occupied the room from 1859-1884. In 1885, the Senate Committee on the District of Columbia was assigned to this room, and used it until 1958. One important piece of history that occurred in this room was that the Senate Park Commission was established in it in 1901. The Commission had a significant effect on the development of Washington, DC as we know it today. Senator James McMillan, who persuaded the Senate to establish the Senate Park Commission in 1901, created a plan to organize the design of the city around "green parks, recreation areas, and grand public edifices." The Commission also stopped the construction of a railroad terminal on the Mall, and proposed that the area be planted with grass and lined with museums and government buildings. Union Station, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Cannon and Russell Congressional office buildings all were created under the McMillan
Plan.
Before Lyndon B. Johnson was president, he was a Senator and served as Senate Majority Leader. In 1959, when he was serving as Senate Majority Leader, Lyndon Johnson moved his leadership office from the third floor of the Senate wing to rooms S-211 and S212 (S-211 later became known as the LBJ Room). Johnson became vice President in 1961 and kept his office in the room until he took over the presidency in 1963. S-211 was Johnson's favorite room during this time. (Since
I didn't have anything to write with, I had to do a little research to fill in my memory with the above facts. So, much of the above comes from the following website):
http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:FOsIu7C5Jf0J:www.senate.gov/artandhistory/art/resources/pdf/Lyndon_B._Johnson_Room.pdf+Lyndon+Baines+Johnson+room&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us
One of the last parts of Congressman Altmire's tour was my favorite. We started at the "House" side of the Capitol Building. There is a hall that goes all the way through the Capitol Building to the Senate side - if you look left and right you can see the doors at either end. He said to us to "remember this door." We walked all the way through the Capitol almost all the way to the other side. Shortly before the other end, on the Senate side, there is a short hallway off of which were rooms that Sam Rayburn used to use. Rayburn was Speaker of the House during FDR's presidency, when Harry S Truman was Vice President. Congressman Altmire told the story of how, one day, Truman was back in one of these rooms talking with Sam Rayburn. The phone rang. Truman picked up the phone, listened for a minute, and his "face went white." Without saying anything to Rayburn, he quickly left the room and ran all the way down the hallway of the Capitol to the door Congressman Altmire had said "to remember." Congressman Altmire said "You could hear the heels of his shoes clicking on the floor as he ran." I smiled when he said this because you could tell, by using this imagery, that he appreciated the "narrative," story-telling
nature of history. He explained that when Truman got to the other side of the Capitol, which is indeed a very long hallway, he got into a car waiting to pick him up. When he got to the White House, they welcomed him there as "Mr. President." FDR had died and Truman had ascended to the Presidency. It was so neat to hear this story told right where it had happened. I looked all the way down the hallway at the other door, and I imagined hearing the clicking of Truman's shoes as he ran down the hallway.
When we left the Capitol Building, we walked down the steps outside of it. When we were part of the way down the steps, Congressman Altmire said to turn around and look up. When I did, you could see this magnificent view of the Capitol dome above you. It was clear that Congressman Altmire had a real appreciation for where he was, for the job that he was doing, and for the history of the building and the office of Representative. He told me that the first time he saw that view was when he came for his interview to be a Congressional staffer.
As we were walking back to his office, he asked me if I had any other questions. I asked him, "What would you want my students to know?" He smiled and said "Now, you're getting all serious on me." He said simply that he would want them to know that he'll try "to accomplish as much as I can while I'm here and that I'm here to help my constituents."
Question Binder ANSWERS!
I asked the legislative staff all the Question Binder questions that related to Congress. I could tell they liked finding the answers to them because after I asked each one, they looked up the answer on the Congressional Research Service website, which provides nonpartisan research resources only to members of Congress and their staffs (you can't access this website outside of Congressional offices, unfortunately). So here are answers to most of the questions:
If a person was born to foreign parents in the U.S. embassy, in say, France, for example, would they be a natural born U.S. citizen? - probably yes, though I actually called and left a message with the State Department for this one (I said I was calling from Congressman Altmire's office, which I was). I'm waiting to hear back on the answer.
Has the United States ever drilled for oil in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge? -- no. It was declared a Federally protected area in 1960 and Congress renewed that in 1980. They have been federal surveys to determine how much oil might be there, but none has been gotten out of the ground. This is a very timely question - the Congress was discussing this when I was there (as you will read in a future blog entry called "Special Order Hours").
Could the President pardon a family member? - yes, he can pardon whomever he wants
What bills does the President pay? Does the President pay taxes? - yes. He pays taxes on is ranch in Crawford, Texas. He does not pay the White House electricity bill.
Because of the mass exodus of people from Louisiana due to Hurricane Katrina, would Louisiana get fewer representatives and when would this number go into effect? - they said this was a good question. The answer - yes, and it would not take effect until 2010 when they do the census again. They also said that this might be a reason Senator Landrieu (D-LA) may lose the next election - since many of the people who would have voted for her have been displaced.
When Congress meets are representatives of the Judicial Branch there? - the White House has a hill lobbyist who acts as a liaison between the Congress and the President, so the Legislative Assistants thought it likely that there was one between the Congress and the Supreme Court as well, though they weren't sure. They did say the Judiciary Committee makes sure laws are constitutional. The Supreme Court can't just come out and say a law is unconstitutional. A suit must be filed in the court first.
If a Supreme Court Justice is not mentally competent can they still hold their job for a life term? - yes, though Congress can impeach them.
If you were a Senator before you were President, when your presidency is up, are you still the Senator of that state? -- no, you had to give up your seat in order to become President.
Can you be kicked out of a political party? - sort of, but not exactly. At the moment in the Senate there are 49 Democrats and 49 Republicans and 2 independents. These 2 independents "caucus" with the Democrats, which means they usually vote the way the Democrats do. This gives the Democrats a majority with 51. At the moment, Senator Joe Lieberman, one of the independents, is Chair of Committee on Homeland Security in the Senate. He is an independent because he lost the Democratic primary, and so he ran as an independent. Recently he has been voting more with the Republicans. So the Democrats could take his Committee Chair away from him. Hence, if this happens, he would not be "kicked out" of the political party, per se, but he would be "kicked out" of a leadership position.
How many times can Congress revise a bill and how many times can the President veto it? - You can "ping-pong" 5 or 6 times - 3 each way.
If everyone in the President's Cabinet was naturalized, who would become the new President? - Congress drafted bills after 9/11 to address this. If you look up "United States presidential line of succession" on wikipedia it will show you the order. If you look at it you'll see that two current members of the cabinet are not eligible because they are naturalized citizens. Recently, the Secretary of Homeland Security was added to the end of the list on March 9, 2006. Regarding the question, however, the government has always made sure that such an event is unlikely - at the State of the Union Address, one of the Secretaries is always hidden in an undisclosed location. For further explanation, see wikipedia.
And finally, yes, Charlie, I asked the librarian at the Library of Congress orientation session I attended if the Library of Congress really has a Book of Secrets. She said no. Sorry Charlie. However, I found out from another history teacher this summer that Disney put out a book of "behind-the-scenes" explanations of the truths and myths in the National Treasure movies, so I will try to get this.
If a person was born to foreign parents in the U.S. embassy, in say, France, for example, would they be a natural born U.S. citizen? - probably yes, though I actually called and left a message with the State Department for this one (I said I was calling from Congressman Altmire's office, which I was). I'm waiting to hear back on the answer.
Has the United States ever drilled for oil in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge? -- no. It was declared a Federally protected area in 1960 and Congress renewed that in 1980. They have been federal surveys to determine how much oil might be there, but none has been gotten out of the ground. This is a very timely question - the Congress was discussing this when I was there (as you will read in a future blog entry called "Special Order Hours").
Could the President pardon a family member? - yes, he can pardon whomever he wants
What bills does the President pay? Does the President pay taxes? - yes. He pays taxes on is ranch in Crawford, Texas. He does not pay the White House electricity bill.
Because of the mass exodus of people from Louisiana due to Hurricane Katrina, would Louisiana get fewer representatives and when would this number go into effect? - they said this was a good question. The answer - yes, and it would not take effect until 2010 when they do the census again. They also said that this might be a reason Senator Landrieu (D-LA) may lose the next election - since many of the people who would have voted for her have been displaced.
When Congress meets are representatives of the Judicial Branch there? - the White House has a hill lobbyist who acts as a liaison between the Congress and the President, so the Legislative Assistants thought it likely that there was one between the Congress and the Supreme Court as well, though they weren't sure. They did say the Judiciary Committee makes sure laws are constitutional. The Supreme Court can't just come out and say a law is unconstitutional. A suit must be filed in the court first.
If a Supreme Court Justice is not mentally competent can they still hold their job for a life term? - yes, though Congress can impeach them.
If you were a Senator before you were President, when your presidency is up, are you still the Senator of that state? -- no, you had to give up your seat in order to become President.
Can you be kicked out of a political party? - sort of, but not exactly. At the moment in the Senate there are 49 Democrats and 49 Republicans and 2 independents. These 2 independents "caucus" with the Democrats, which means they usually vote the way the Democrats do. This gives the Democrats a majority with 51. At the moment, Senator Joe Lieberman, one of the independents, is Chair of Committee on Homeland Security in the Senate. He is an independent because he lost the Democratic primary, and so he ran as an independent. Recently he has been voting more with the Republicans. So the Democrats could take his Committee Chair away from him. Hence, if this happens, he would not be "kicked out" of the political party, per se, but he would be "kicked out" of a leadership position.
How many times can Congress revise a bill and how many times can the President veto it? - You can "ping-pong" 5 or 6 times - 3 each way.
If everyone in the President's Cabinet was naturalized, who would become the new President? - Congress drafted bills after 9/11 to address this. If you look up "United States presidential line of succession" on wikipedia it will show you the order. If you look at it you'll see that two current members of the cabinet are not eligible because they are naturalized citizens. Recently, the Secretary of Homeland Security was added to the end of the list on March 9, 2006. Regarding the question, however, the government has always made sure that such an event is unlikely - at the State of the Union Address, one of the Secretaries is always hidden in an undisclosed location. For further explanation, see wikipedia.
And finally, yes, Charlie, I asked the librarian at the Library of Congress orientation session I attended if the Library of Congress really has a Book of Secrets. She said no. Sorry Charlie. However, I found out from another history teacher this summer that Disney put out a book of "behind-the-scenes" explanations of the truths and myths in the National Treasure movies, so I will try to get this.
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