I am terribly sorry for the delay in my blogging. I imagined I would have more time to keep everyone back home up to date, but the thrill of DC has completely kept me occupied for the last month and a half. I have fully adjusted to the DC lifestyle... Work hard to play hard.
My weekdays are jam packed. I wake up each morning around seven to get ready for work. I enjoy my mile walk to work and arrive to Rayburn between eight and nine. I typically leave my internship around six, which makes for a long day, but I am enjoying my internship so much that my days really fly by. I bought a gym membership in the House gym. Over my lunch breaks I utilize that time to workout in order to keep my evenings free. I arrive home between six-thirty and seven, which leaves me a few hours of leisure before bed. I am taking a few online classes to keep up with school while I am in DC, so after making dinner my evenings consist of studying and hanging out with my roommates and friends I have made. I try to be in bed by eleven each night, but sometimes I am unable to make that eleven o'clock appointment.
The Internship
There is no greater time than right now to experience D.C! There is a new president, a new congress, a new cabinet, and the same party controls both the legislative and executive branch which enables a lot of government activity. Currently, am working on updating our media contacts for our press secretary. This has been a task. It is vital that the press secretary has all the necessary media contacts available to her in order to release any messages to media outlets or constituents. I am contacting most of the newspapers, television stations, and radio stations in Kansas. I am also contacting major national news networks such as CNN, Fox News, Associated Press, Washington Post, etc.
Another role I play in our office is answering constituent phone calls. Over the past month I have received many calls regarding the stimulus package, the Freedom of Choice Act, and H.R. 45 which involves gun rights. With the stimulus being pushed to be passed, I have received many calls from constituents voicing their opinions on how they would like the Congressman to cast his vote.
Three weeks ago, H.R. 1, The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, more commonly known as the stimulus package, was passed through the house. After it past in the Senate two weeks ago, a conference was formed between both the House and the Senate to negotiate the differences of the bill in order for it to be re voted upon and signed into law by the president. On Friday, I was in DC when the single most expensive bill was voted into law by the Legislature. The bill is 1,071 pages, costing 787 billion dollars.
In order to respect the privacy of the constituents who have called into our office, I will not go into detail of the phone calls I have received, but I will say that this economic crisis is effecting many Kansans. I can only hope that the actions our government is taking is the answer to this recession. It is difficult to witness friends, neighbors, and even family losing their homes, jobs, insurance, and all else that follows.
I also attend briefings on behalf of Legislative Assistants on issues ranging from health care to terrorism. My favorite briefing thus far was on microfinance. Microfinance is the process of giving small loans to low income people, specifically those in third world countries. Microfinance provides a ladder for those in poverty to climb out of that poverty by starting their own businesses. Microfinance has provided an outlet for thieves, prostitutes, and even slaves create a stable steady income for a successful life.
Playing Hard
After the work week, I get to enjoy my weekends. I really appreciate my weekends now that I work a 40 plus hour work week. Last I left off, I had received tickets to the presidential inauguration. D.C. was chaos inauguration weekend. Approximately 2 million people arrived in DC for the inauguration, the most ever in our nations history. I woke up early in the morning of inauguration day and was in line by 7. By this point, the line was already half a mile from the entrance. President Obama's inauguration day was also the coldest inauguration on record, and at seven in the morning, it was definitly believable! My roommates and I huddled together to keep each other warm. By ten-thirty the line had barely moved so we made a quick judgement call and ran back to the apartment to catch the inauguration on tv since it started at eleven. While I did not get to see the inauguration in person, I was still in D.C. during a very historical moment.
I have also had the opportunity spend time with my Sweetheart sisters. Claire Buffie, Miss Indiana Sweetheart as well as Miss Michigan Sweetheart and former Miss Kansas sister, Samantha Steckloff came to DC. On the weekend of Miss America, my roommates and I watched the America Pageant in the movie theater of a friend's apartment. We followed up the evening playing Wii and my new favorie card game nertz! This past weekend I enjoyed the KU vs K-State game at a K-State pub here in DC with fellow co-workers. There are only two other KU fans, and we are very outnumbered by K-Staters. On Sunday I left for Delaware and went to Rehobeth Beach and then to Ocean City in Maryland. In total, I spent about 10 hours driving the coasts of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia between Sunday and Monday. I crossed two major bridges. One bridge crossed the Chesapeake Bay by Annapolis and looked like a roller coaster. The second bridge crossed the mouth between the Atlantic Ocean and the Chesapeake Bay connecting Maryland and Virginia. This bridge took about thirty minutes to cross. The road would transition between bridges and under ocean tunnels. I am petrified of bridges so driving across this bridge was a monumental event for me.
I promise that for the rest of the duration of my stay, I will be more prompt in keeping you all up to date!
I miss you all.
Danielle
Whatever you want in life, other people are going to want it too. Believe in yourself enough to accept the idea that you have an equal right to it
~Diane Sawyer
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