Day 6 (January 15, 2009)
From Ben Koch ‘10…
Ambassador from Pakistan
The morning began with a special guest, His Excellency Ambassador Husain Haqqani, the Pakistan Ambassador to the U.S. He began with a quote that Hillary Clinton said during her hearing for the post of Secretary of State, “The world cannot solve its problems without America, but America cannot solve its problems without the world.” The Ambassador provided a perspective on our country and the world that is often difficult for some Americans and myself to fully grasp in our country that he said was a “self-contained world”. He mentioned statistics that many Americans do not own passports and proudly state that they have never travelled abroad. The Ambassador encouraged us as college students to travel the world, to better understand our global neighbors. There is a transformation going on in Pakistan to a fully democratic country and he was excited by his country’s progress. An interesting viewpoint was when he discussed the war on terror and Pakistani youth. He said that the mission of their government on the war on terror is to “give a future to those whom the terrorists are trying to recruit today” and said they measure their success by the question “are we denying terrorist the opportunity to recruit more of our youngsters?”. Much attention is given in America’s youth surrounding the war on drugs while in Pakistan he said that they are just trying to keep young people from blowing up themselves and others. This was shocking to think on the differences, yet also the similarities, between our two countries’ youth. Is the war on drugs waged to give young Americans hope and a future? Another interesting story was his account of dinner with President Bush. The President asked how many of the Pakistani delegation had been in jail in their country for government-related issues–all raised their hands. The Ambassador went on to explain how Pakistan has grown the last few years and how very lucky we are to live in a country where you aren’t exiled or imprisoned each time a new party comes to power. In regards to prison time, I guess Illinois government isn’t doing so bad after all–but we certainly could do better.
Meeting Congressman Schock
My next stop after lunch was the Cannon House Office Building (CHOB) with Owen Irwin ‘10 and Lauren Porto ‘10, where we met the 18th District of Illinois Representative, Aaron Schock, in his office. On the way, we passed in front of the east side of the U.S. Capitol. This building is as phenomenal looking as it is huge; there was also an impressive security detail and it was difficult to keep track of the large number of police hidden among the pillars. When we arrived at the CHOB, we located Schock’s office on the fifth floor. We were greeted by his Chief-of-Staff and welcomed to his office. Schock was on his way back from the House and we waited with a reporter who was going to interview him. It was apparent that not only was his office extremely busy, but that the Congressman was busy too-an accomplishment and testimony to the dedication and labor of a very young junior representative. Soon he walked in and immediately gave us his full attention. He welcomed us back to his office and gave us a quick tour of everything-which wasn’t much he admitted as he’d only been there for a week. Speaking to the Congressman was quite an honor, but what was most memorable was the respect and interest he gave to us. He was excited to hear what we thought about Washington and to provide insight and help in any way possible. We even joked about Beyonce and his “celebrity status” as the youngest member of Congress. He was very down to earth and certainly humble. We snapped a photo and soon were off. We’ll see Rep. Schock again at the Inauguration. While in the building, we stopped by several other House offices: Ron Paul of Texas, Peter Roskam of Illinois, and Nancy Pelosi of California. At each office we were welcomed and greeted kindly by the staff. Each told us (with the exception of the busy Speaker of the House) that the Congressman would have enjoyed getting to meet us and take a photo. It was encouraging to see how transparent the House was and how open our lawmakers were. Had we been on official business representing a need for our constituency, we could have most certainly had an attentive audience with the representatives.
Senate Offices
Taking Rep. Schock’s advice, we travelled over to the complex of Senate Office Buildings to visit the offices of renowned Senators John McCain and Hillary Clinton, among others. We probably looked like confused freshman on the first day of class, wandering the hallways, excited yet extremely nervous. The first office we found was John McCain’s. The door was open and we walked right in. I was so nervous. Eventually we inquired whether Sen. McCain was in. We were informed that the senator was not in and encouraged to stop back another time. We continued our Senate search by locating the directory of Senate Offices. The list did not contain Sen. Clinton’s office as she had resigned earlier that morning and vacated her offices already. Another surprise was the addition of Roland Burris to the directory as Senator for Illinois. After a short elevator ride we found Burris’s new office. Although Sen. Burris was not in, we were given a phone number and encouraged to stop by tomorrow. We hope to congratulate him and wish him well in his service to the people of the great State of Illinois. A quick stop was made at Sen. Dick Durbin’s office as well. All and all, my impression was that the Senate and senators were much more closed than the House. While in the House, you found busy representatives eager to meet with visitors when their schedule allowed; in the Senate you found senators not as obliging in all cases. I wonder if this is related more to their job requirements or term limits? Would getting elected every two years change how you acted as opposed to every six years?
Surprise Encounter
Next we wanted to see the hearing for Eric Holder, President-Elect Obama’s selection for Attorney General. In the basement of the Russell Senate Office Building, we were near the elevators when Owen whispered, “Sen. McCain”. My heart stopped beating and my mouth gaped open for a split second as Sen. John McCain walked past by brushing against my shoulder as he walked toward the elevator. Lauren and I did not know what to say; could we really run into John McCain in the basement of this building? Luckily, Owen responded with a quick, “Hello Sen. McCain” and was greeted with an enthusiastic “Hello to you” from the senator. He was shorter than I had imagined. Clearly I needed to prepare myself for the reality that anyone could be around the next corner. I was ready for our next encounter (hoping that there would be one).
Attorney General’s Hearing
We found our way to SR-325, where the hearing was going on behind large wooden doors. The three of us were confused as to whether or not we could enter. Owen asked a cameraman near the door if we could enter or if we had to wait. His response spoke volumes and really sums up the openness and accessibility of our democracy. He said “I don’t know, can you? It’s called a democracy. It’s YOUR country.” Wow! If that doesn’t speak to you about the greatness of our country, I don’t know what will. So we walked into the hearing for Eric Holder in progress and took seats. The United States government is truly a government of the people, by the people–I need to exercise this right more often, not only during elections. Why is there a perception that Capitol Hill is off limits? Was this created by the people? Or by lawmakers? The hearing was fascinating, as senators grilled Mr. Holder on his past record and policies pertaining to their constituents. Questions were fielded to Mr. Holder about civil liberties and gun laws. I was struck by the firmness of the senators and the confidence of Mr. Holder’s voice. After 20 minutes we had to leave in order to make an engagement later that night with The Washington Center which had arranged a special performance by political comedian Mark Russell. He was equally as offensive to both political parties and had the audience engaged with every off-color joke he told. Today was full of events, and I must say I’m still recovering from my encounter with John McCain. At least I’ll be prepared for when I visit the Capitol for a tour tomorrow.