Life continues to go well in D.C. Work isn’t too difficult and is actually becoming more and more interesting as I get to learn and experience more. Cold weather set in this weekend, with a little bit of snow, but nothing too terrible.
Last Wednesday we attended a Texas State Society event after work, the Annual Salute to Congress. Texas Representatives were there along with Senator Hutchison and a lot of staff and interns. The event was very Texas themed, featuring free Tex-mex, Blue Bell, and Shiner Bock. The Representatives present each gave a short speech, as did Senator Hutchison, and it was a good way to mingle with Texans. Kay Bailey made a joke about Governor Perry during her speech that was a little shocking, but also pretty funny. The joke went something like this: “Every year I love coming to the Texas State Society Salute to Congress. This is really a wonderful event for 3 reasons. First, it’s a chance for us to come together and interact as Texans. Second, it’s a great excuse to enjoy some wonderful Texas libations. And third…..” (Here she paused for a long time until everyone started laughing; obviously mocking Governor Perry’s inability to recall the 3rd executive agency he would cut during a presidential debate earlier in his campaign). After everyone got over the initial shock, the room burst into laughter. I personally couldn’t believe that a sitting senator would make such a public mockery of their governor, but I guess that’s what happens when you lose a bitter primary campaign.
Last Thursday was Senator Cornyn’s birthday. The Chief of Staff closed the office a half hour early and we all went over to the NRSC office where we had a surprise birthday party set up. The senator arrived thinking that he was coming to a meeting and instead found all of his staff waiting to wish him happy birthday. In addition to cake and drinks, the staff had gone around getting some of the senator’s colleagues to record short messages for him and compiled a video that was very funny. Everyone’s been mocking Senator Cornyn recently for saying that 60 is the new 40 and several of his fellow senators joined in the humor. Their messages were all very good and inspired a good laugh for the staff. Overall the party was a great success and I think it really made the senator’s day.
One great thing about being an intern for the senate is the amount of free lunches that you get. There a crazy amount of luncheon briefings that take place on the Hill every week. A lot of these have important information for the staff, but a lot of times the appropriate staff members either can’t or don’t want to attend them. As a result, interns usually get invited to attend the luncheons in their place and bring back a summary of the information. Last Friday, Cash and I went to a briefing on entrepreneurial jobs in science and technology. Then Wednesday we attended one on nuclear power and the future of nuclear energy in the United States. Usually these briefings are done by scientists and they aren’t incredibly interesting (you can see why the staff doesn’t normally care to attend). However, any good college student can sit through an hour long briefing on ANYTHING if there’s a free lunch involved. We’re quickly finding that being an intern willing to volunteer for lunch briefings is a great way to eat every week while keeping your food costs down. And the food isn’t bad either!
This Thursday, we got a little bit of a surprise. While doing our morning work entering scheduling requests into our database, we suddenly heard a voice behind us say “Howdy!” Turning around we saw Senator Cornyn standing behind our desk (the 3 interns each have a computer and work station at a long, shared desk. We had been so busy working that none of us had even noticed the senator walking around upstairs (our office takes up 2 floors with an interior staircase) and talking to staff. We were pleasantly surprised by his improvisational visit and got to spend a few minutes talking to him. He was interested in where we were going to school, what we were studying, what our career plans were, and how we were liking the internship so far. I was impressed to see that he was willing to take time out of his day to talk to his interns and get to know us a little better. Definitely says a lot about Senator Cornyn and the type of guy he is. Honestly, I’ve really been overly impressed by his attitude towards his office and the effort he puts into his job. Senator Cornyn has a policy in his office that every constituent who writes to us receives a response, regardless of whether their letter is supportive or condemning. If you contact the senator’s office and include a return address, you WILL get a response from us. That’s really impressive considering the sheer volume of mail that comes in to the office. Our Legislative Correspondents do a great job working very hard to make sure that happens, and it’s just nice to see a senator who values his constituents that much. Senator Cornyn really understands why he’s in D.C. and who he’s working for.
On Friday, I got a really great experience. Dave Hanke is our Legislative Assistant for military and defense issues and is a former Army JAG. I told him the first week of the internship that I was interested in defense issues and was willing to help with any projects he had during the semester. This week he told me that some researchers from the Center for Security Policy would be coming into the office to present a report they had done on defense cuts and the upcoming military budget. He invited me to sit in on this meeting with him and our military fellow and I was really excited to be included in something like that. I got to sit at the table with these people as part of the Senator’s staff and listen to the researchers present their report, then listen to our staff ask questions and study the report. It was interesting information in a field that really interests me, so I was grateful for the opportunity.
The weekend was pretty lazy, due to the snow and extremely cold weather. I pretty much stayed indoors all weekend and watched Netflix, with one exception to go to church. The service was really good tonight and very fulfilling. John McGowan is a very passionate, gifted speaker and the current series on Jonah has been very informative and spiritually beneficial. There were 3 baptisms done tonight and it was great to be able to celebrate three new additions to the church family.
That’s about all I have for now. Hope all is well in Texas! I hear it’s “snowing” down there tonight, but I doubt it’s as cold or overcast as it is here. ; )
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