Up on a Hill-top

Today was my first day on Capitol Hill! I spent it mostly in orientation and training type activities, of which I have nothing particularly exciting to report.

The greatest things I learned today, however, were by means of comparison. The actual tasks I’ll be performing are readily comparable to what I did in Parliament last summer. I suspect that most legislative bodies the world over are similar. Mail, research, errands, etc. The differences, however, are astronomical.

All of the United Kingdom is approximately the size of Illinois and Indiana combined. In the US, those two states boast 4 senators, and 29 representatives. In the UK, there are approximately 650 MPs. MP offices were typically quite small, with three or four total staff members. Now, granted, on the House side of Congress, the offices are considerably smaller – but still much bigger than MPs. The Senate, however, is huge. In my office alone there are 25 full-time staff members, each with their own desks, and multiple interns.

The other fascinating thing about the Senate is how much more freedom I’m allowed. In Parliament, only a few staff passes were issued for each MP, and most interns weren’t allowed them. Thus, we had visitor passes every day, passed through tight security (surrounded by guards with uzis), and then were not allowed to walk anywhere unescorted during the day.

Here, a virtually unlimited number of people can be preapproved to gain passes, and even as interns, they then have all of the rights of full staff. We can meander all through the capitol, and frequently it’s the interns who give tours to constituents. Security guards are everywhere, but they’re also much more friendly, even teasing on occasion. (Unless you do something rude or bad, like I saw one man do today-- then they’re as nasty as anyone).

Right now the offices are rather casual, since the Senate is in recess, but I think that will provide a nice way to ease into the internship. A week from now, it’ll start to pick up – and all sorts of excitement will ensue! I particularly can't wait until I'm assigned to help out the legislative staff -- that was my favorite duty in Parliament, and I think here it will be even more enjoyable.