Just hours after a Marine escort picked him up from the airport, the soon-to-be congressman headed to the White House for a meeting with the president followed by dinner with dignitaries in the Capitol.
Lest Republican Peter Roskam get swept up in the moment, a coterie of Capitol Hill veterans quickly offered a leavening perspective — including details on office operations and advice on what to do if served with a subpoena.
“Thanks for the wake-up call,” joked Roskam, a lawyer and state senator newly elected to succeed veteran Rep. Henry Hyde (R-Ill.).
The schooling, formal and informal, provides a fresh moment for the fresh faces in town to learn the capital’s curious folkways before they are sworn to office in January. After months of talking policy and politics on the campaign trail, 49 Democrats, 14 Republicans and 1 Independent are now immersed in House and Senate curricula ranging from the awe-inspiring to the tedious.
There was the two-day orientation program, covering boilerplate on security and emergency preparedness, legal issues and office budgets.
On Wednesday, many of the incoming members conducted a battery of interviews, scrutinizing a parade of potential Capitol Hill staffers and strivers — many of whom became available for hire only after last week’s elections.
And first thing Friday morning comes the House office lottery, in which new members draw numbers to see who gets priority in choosing office space, no small detail in a place that often measures status by proximity to the powerful.
“The climax was last week, on election night,” said Salley Collins, a staffer on the House Administration Committee charged with orienting the freshmen. “Here’s a little bit of reality.”
That reality may set in on Friday, when even Democratic freshmen realize that, despite their party’s vaunted new congressional majorities, they are at the bottom of the list in terms of seniority. Some of the offices for entry-level House members are in what is referred to as the “attic” of the Cannon House Office Building, two elevator rides away from the building’s majestic colonnades.
“My first office was small, but it was also a long walk [to the floor] for votes,” said Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.), who became a member in 1993. “With the office I have now, I can leave with 4 1/2 minutes before a vote. If you try that from those freshman offices, you’re going to miss the vote. It’s a matter of geography.”
Don’t fixate on trappings
But veteran lawmakers also urged visiting freshmen to focus on higher things. Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) reminded the newcomers not to fixate on the trappings of status.
“My advice is to think about how to be of service to your constituents,” said Rush, who also joined Congress in 1993. “There are so many issues that come before us. You have to have a laser beam focus on what you want to accomplish.”
After spending several days with the 2007 freshman class, Democrat Phil Hare says one of those goals for him is to help quell acrimony and partisanship in Congress. Elected from the central and western Illinois district where he has long worked as an aide for Rep. Lane Evans (D-Ill.), Hare is set to replace his boss when the 110th Congress convenes in January.
“We’ve had a little caucus of our own,” Hare said of his fellow freshmen. “We want no more rancor and finger-pointing. We’re tired of the name-calling. We want to get things done.”
Hare said the same topic has cropped up in conversation again and again as the members-elect gather for morning coffee and for dinner.
“I was having this conversation over a cheeseburger last night,” Hare said. “You can be poles apart on an issue, but you don’t have to go to the extremes of name-calling. I’m not in the mood for getting even here. I’m in the mood for getting things done.”
As a member of the Democratic majority, Hare is in a slightly better position than Roskam, who joins a small cadre of freshman Republicans who won against a strong Democratic tide.
Stars in their eyes
But Roskam said his introduction to Washington has been inspiring. On Monday night, he and other incoming members had dinner in the Capitol’s Statuary Hall, surrounded by figures of the pioneers and heroes of American history. Roskam and his wife, Elizabeth, were seated with Vice President Dick Cheney and House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) and their wives.
The next day came a presentation by current freshmen members of Congress, who dispensed advice on protecting personal time with family and friends–of special importance to the Roskams, whose four young children are back in Wheaton this week with their grandparents.
“What these people keep telling you is to control your own schedule,” Roskam said. “Don’t let your staff run you like a show pony.”
Family concerns are just one challenge for the incoming freshmen, including eight new Democrats in the Senate, one Republican and an Independent. House administration officials say there are 41 Democrats in town for orientation, including both the Republican and the Democrat in one contested race where the votes are still being counted.
`Take a deep breath’
After staffs are chosen and offices assigned, new House members will get the word about their committee assignments, most likely in December. Some newcomers have been lobbying for months, calling the likely committee chairmen and making their wishes known to party patrons.
Even crucial committee decisions aren’t make-or-break, advised longtime lawmakers.
“This is the world’s premiere legislative institution, and you’re a member of it,” Gutierrez said. “You should understand the privilege and the honor that comes with it. Take a deep breath and enjoy it. . . . And maybe stick around for a while.”
Or, as Hyde is fond of saying, they should think of themselves as the Christmas help, there by whim of the voters, and perhaps for only a short time.
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cparsons@tribune.com
