These week I've been helping out with random things, but one thing I always do at my internship is to pass out newspapers in the morning. I know it's a boring job, but it's good to meet everyone and good for trying to remember everyone's names. It's kind of cool though that everyone wants newspapers, because it's part of their jobs, especially the lobbyists, to keep up to date on everything that's going on in government and politics. I get about a thousand emails every day with different new sources that are meant to keep you up to date on what's going on in Congress.
Besides the awesome job of newspaper girl, I was able to pick out some articles that the lobbyists put on facebook and twitter! I found an article that talked about how the cost of healthcare and how it would go up once the new law goes into effect. The main subjects that I'll be dealing with at my internship is the new healthcare law and with taxes! Woo!! So exciting!! haha But really those are the biggest problems that small businesses are worried about so that's what everyone's working on.
My favorite thing I got to do this week was to go to my first hearing to take notes to bring back to the lobbyists. I went to a hearing at the Senate Finance Committee, which is one of the more important committees and it was all about tax extenders and tax reform. It's not super exciting stuff, but it is important for small business so it was important for me to go.
It was really cool going into the Senate building and I learned that we had to wait in a line to go into the hearing and that there's something called a line holding service. You can actually hire someone through this service to hold your place in line for you so you don't have to wait and I guess it's usually homeless people who have the job. It would be really funny to see a fancy-dressed lobbyist next to a homeless person, but when I was there no one was using the service.
But while I was waiting in line there was a Senate Intelligence hearing just about to happen right near us and we saw General Pertraeus walk by and ask us all what we were doing wasting our time there! He had about a million security people around him, but he wasn't in his military uniform and I asked my internship coordinator who was with me who that was and she must have thought I was so stupid!
But being in the hearing was interesting, I saw Senators Baucus and Hatch, who were the chairman and ranking member respectively and then Senator Olympia Snowe from Maine, who I think is awesome because she's moderate, but my mother may not agree. haha But overall it made me see why people are hating Congress right now because they basically decided nothing and the Senators just kept talking about the random tax credit they liked even though the point of the meeting was to talk about how the whole thing needs to be reformed! One guy literally started by saying "There's a wind blowing of the Atlantic......" and then talked about wind farms randomly.
Well that was kinda long and boring, but afterwards I had a lot of free time, so I went by the Capitol and the Supreme Court and took pictures:
Then I went back downtown and got lunch at Roti, which was a really yummy but expensive Mediterranean food place. Then I took it to go and ate at a park right in front of the white house!
It was a pretty sweet day!
So yeah hopefully I keep remembering to update my blog, but right now I'm getting ready to go to a club called "Fur" (weird name!) where Jenna Marbles is gonna be!! If you don't know who she is go youtube her videos right this second!!
But this is what we're not going to do tonight:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIk25NlP3o8
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