Finally Friday

This morning I had the opportunity to meet with the Agriculture Chairs of the Minnesota Legislature. The four Minnesota delegates were Representatives Al Juhnke of Willmar, Mary Ellen Otremba of Long Prairie, and Senator Jim Vickerman and his wife. They were attending a two-day conference in Washington with 47 of the 50 states’ agriculture chairs. Our staff and I walked them to a room in the Cannon Building where Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Agriculture of the House Appropriations Committee, was speaking. She talked about renewable energy being the thing that is going to get the Farm Bill rolling, which has been a reoccurring theme in our office as well. Our staff director then talked about what he saw as challenges, including that PAYGO and a reduced baseline budget were going to make it really hard to cover everything everyone wants covered. I have heard time and again that right now, we don’t have enough votes to pass the bill. We need to convince other members of Congress to vote for the bill, which will probably be done by linking it to being more fuel independent, helping the environment, and then finally talking about helping our farmers get better prices for what they do. Our staff, along with many other house committee members’ staffs including Ranking Member Goodlatte’s, then answered questions on everything from Animal Welfare to Disaster Relief. Most of the questions were unable to be answered as the limited budget really does not allow the staff to confirm anything that will definitely be in the bill.

This afternoon I continued transcribing a speech that Mr. Chairman gave at the national Farm Bureau convention. While I thought this would be boring, it is really a good tool as I am learning everything that he (we) stand for. It also gives me a better sense of his personality, which I don’t get to see much of while he’s in Washington because he seems much more business like.

With another week down, I feel like I made a good choice in coming out here, and I am learning far more about agricultural policy than I could anywhere else.

Business Casual

Republicans got mad and left for the weekend, so there was nothing going on. Actually, they had their two-day retreat to get everyone on the same page, so there were no votes today. This meant the Chairman was out, half the staff was not around, and we got let go an hour early. I spent most of the day trying to transcribe a speech given by Mr. Peterson at a MN Farm Bureau meeting. It is an hour long speech, and I only got about 1/4 of the way through it. There was a meeting addressing what President Bush said about renewable energy in his State of the Union Speech today, although I did not sit in, I guess it was kind of heated. So between transcribing, running errands and making contact lists, I found out two fun things coming up for tomorrow. First, I will be walking with a delegation of MN State Legislators (as in St. Paul) right away tomorrow. I am not sure how many, but it will be both Senators and Representatives. Second, we have a party after work tomorrow, so that should be a lot of fun. It's in our office on the other end of the hall, and pretty much everyone who works in our office (even people I have not yet met) will be there.

I also received an offer from the University paper MN Daily, that I will be in an article in their paper next week. Not much to say. We were able to wear jeans and a nice shirt today (because the House was not in session), which I comfortably obliged to. It would be the same if I didn't meet with the legislators tomorrow, but I have to wear a suit with no tie at the least. I like work, but I'm ready for the weekend after tomorrow!

All the buzz

Between the constant phones ringing, bells going off to signal votes, Blackberry vibrations, construction noise next door, and people coming into our office, I can conclude that there is some noise going through our office. It all started day one, but today I just realized how much of the time there is an annoying noise which we are conditioned to react to. When the phone rings, we answer. A Blackberry vibration deserves a response. A bell and light above the clock means it is time for Mr. Chairman to run to vote. Hammers and saws mean closing our outside door. Visitors mean emails to Blackberries, which starts the whole cycle over again. If the Capitol lost electricity for an extended period of time, progress would most likely be at a standstill.

Today I completed a project for Mr. Holden, a Agriculture Committee member from Pennsylvania and Chairman of the Subcommittee on Energy (and other things), to help give him some background information about all the different types of energy, by making a binder filled with renewable energy information. Because that consumed so much of my time, I did little of anything else. I of course did wean my way into a few "secrets of the house".

The first was in the cafeteria. I noticed the sign that said "Debitek only" at one of the many checkouts, most of which accept check or credit card. I asked my boss about it, and she felt really bad for not telling Gabriel and me sooner. It is like an employee discount, she explained, but for everyone if they look hard enough. To get the Debitek cards, you have to go to a Cash-to-Card machine, we have the same ones at the U. The machine will print you out a card to use for all your eating and drinking needs while in any of the cafeterias, carry-outs and snack bars. There are actually two secrets, about this secret. The first is in getting the card itself. You have to have a $5 bill. Since the average citizen would take out cash to get $20's, they would first, have cash to spend on food, and second not be able to get a card if they tried. The second secret is that after you get the $5 card, it is instantly worth $5.50. A 10% instant payback, no strings attached! I put in $5 more, and sure enough, $11 showed up on the machine. In the long run, this is a great deal. In the short run, if you are eating anything worth over $5, it is probably worth getting one (as long as you don't end up with too much excess value on your card when you are done).

The second secret is not really a secret, sorry to disappoint. What I did this afternoon was neat and not often done. I got a tour of the Capitol's second floor. This level looks twice as nice as any of the other levels of the Capitol, which aren't shabby at all. There were some things I did not realize that now make sense. Before I got to Washington, I wanted a picture of the House of Representatives to put as my computer's desktop. I only found one online, really odd for one of our nation's most prized places. But again, a rule of the House is that there may be no pictures or videos in the House area of the the second floor, and only a member may bring someone onto the floor of the house. We walked around the outside of where the House assembles, and saw the Speaker's Lobby, where only members and people with "floor passes" are allowed. Until very recently Congressmen could use the room for a smoke-break. Here we handed off a piece of paper to one of the people guarding the door, although I have no clue what it was (the lady I was with had a floor pass and needed to deliver something to CCP). Then we saw the outside of the respective majority and minority Cloakrooms, where I was also not allowed. Two final stops (although I could not see into anything besides the Speaker's Lobby) was at the Congressional dining hall (again, members and guests only) and the Rayburn Room, which was closed off because an event was in there. The reason for the tour was in case we forget something, I would be able to run to one of those places and hand it off to the Chairman or a staff member.

While work is great, when I come home I still have a couple classes to do homework for, so I better get back to that. I hope all is well in MN, and wherever else you are reading this!

In a Stately Manner

Today was jammed full of everything you should want in an action movie. I saw helicopters, M-16's and motorcycles, and that was just on the 3 block walk home.

Tonight I helped at a reception for the Jefferson Islands Club, and yes, there actually is an island. Former members include August Busch (of Anheuser-Busch),President Truman and Franklin D. Roosevelt. I would guesstimate that a bipartisan 10% of the House of Representatives and Senate checked into the reception, along with many corporate sponsors. They served oysters, mini-sandwiches, fruit and brownies.

The earlier part of the day was busy as well. In the morning Gabe and I did the daily routines, and I completed a renewable fuels definitions page for Mr. Holden, the new Chairman of the Agriculture Committee's subcommittee on Energy (along with other things). The Agriculture Committee held their Organizational Meeting.

After the meeting, Gabe and I attended an eye-opening meeting with a handful of top people from the USDA. We talked about Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) and the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). I learned that COOL was already in place for fish and shellfish. Right now, the biggest thing that people do not understand is that current legislation places all responsibility on the retailers alone. If nothing is done this session as far as COOL legislation, the law will be enforced in September 2008, even if the USDA does not have time to set up the process to allow it not to be a burden for retailers and producers alike. We must realize that beginning COOL is a two-year process when it comes to beef (because of the time from birth to butcher), and variable lengths for other species. I talk about beef because I understand it best, but without a label at birth, there is no way a retailer will know what country it is from when it reaches the store.

Another thing about COOL, is that it was put in the Farm Bill please consumers of 2002, and not as much for safety reasons. It is so a soccer-mom from the suburbs can go to the store and see that her 98% fat free beef is 100% American. It also something that is now inevitable, as we have come too far. It will not be included with convenience and restaurant foods, and the vast majority of meat affected will be in your larger supermarkets. One thing to point out is that COOL is intended for fruits and vegetables as well, but is much easier to implement as most fruit is stickered already.

NAIS is something that is usually that goes hand it hand with COOL. NAIS is also something that is coming, but the resistance is much higher. NAIS is also for safety, and the quelling of fear. Currently, about 25% of the nation has their premises registered. The goal is for any disease outbreak, emergency disease, or foreign outbreak that would occur, the USDA is able to pinpoint where the food/animal came from as quickly as possible. With all things in the USDA, privacy is up to the holder. The USDA will have 24/7 access to records, but not even your neighbors will find out. If there is a disease on your premises, of course your neighbors will be tested. But the USDA never once gave out the names of the producers in any of the BT, BSE, or other animal disease cases. They found that even if they would have liked to make the location and person public, the producer usually does it first. The neighbors have usually been called before the USDA gets there. The main USDA spokesperson said the data was at the utmost security. Although he did not say it, I believe you could compare it to the privacy placed on taxes and social security numbers at the federal level.

With all the different technologies and programs NAIS uses, and with more being added each year, costs are shrinking. Unfortunately, so is trust. As time passes, producers agree less with NAIS than they did when NAIS was first introduced. Animal ID is something I need to be well researched on, as I will be attending many hearings in the upcoming months, and I was told the hearings will be useless if I do not know all of the acronym's the speakers are using.

After watching the State of the Union, I know tomorrow will bring many phone calls. Each mention of renewable fuels brings more attention to the Agriculture Committee. While most of the press is good, much of it is the same question, something we do not know the answer to, or something too obvious to give an answer without laughing.

To close, I just want everyone understand how diverse the Washington, D.C. culture is. The following is an excerpt from the reception:
"Ya'll have an accent," then he looked at my last name on my nametag, "Oh, ya'll are from Sweden? Cool!"

Slow day after Snow day

From a legislative standpoint, the office was quite stoic. I spent all morning making labels and like most staff, avoiding going outside. Leaving the building today would have meant spending at least 30 minutes trying to get back in as the 34th anniversary of Roe v. Wade again brought abortion opponents to Capitol Hill. Middle schoolers wore t-shirts and hats representing everyone from St. Abraham to St. Zacharia, and places as close as D.C. and as far away as St. Louis. This afternoon we prepared for the first full Committee meeting (which will be held tomorrow) in one of our rooms. It is called the organizational meeting as they set the Rules for the session, which meant copying the 36 page document for 150 people, including the 46 Members, staff, press, and public who are assumed to be in the room. I also had many other minor projects like calling to find out who the Agriculture Legislative Analysts (LAs) were from each office, and doing the final editing and proofreading of a press release that will come out tomorrow.. I kept plugging away at making labels in the afternoon as the school children marched down the streets and in our basements.

I was a true secretary today and have little to report. I could always get into the positives and negatives of abortion, but luckily I am just an intern, so I do not have to take a stand. I am not sure if all the southern states' staff made it in because of the light layer of snow, as besides the Catholic kids, the halls were very empty.

My big news for the day was that I was invited to take a tour of the White House some time in the upcoming weeks, so I had to submit all my information to do a background check.

It was an enjoyable day, but nothing to blog about.