9-7-2016: Committee Hearings

My second day in DC was very fast paced and exciting! I had the opportunity to learn several different things in my own interest areas, as well as explore and do follow up research to give myself a better understanding of the topics.

This morning, I attended two meetings at the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. The first one was entitled “Possible motions to subpoena information from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.” The purpose of this committee meeting was to potentially issue a subpoena on the Department of Veterans Affairs to find out more information as to where money has been spent in light of several Veterans Health Administration (VHA) scandals since 2014. Ranking Member Mark Takano expressed his primary concern that any subpoena issued should protect past and future whistleblowers. Despite these concerns, the subpoena was passed. The thing that surprised me was the attitude of Chairman Jeff Miller, which seemed impatient and unwilling to listen, saying that the majority party would pass the motion for the subpoena whether or not the minority party agreed.

Immediately after the first meeting was a hearing entitled “From Tumult to Transformation: The Commission on Care and the Future of the VA Healthcare System.” It featured two health care management professionals who served as the chairperson and vice chairperson of the Commission on Care, a group of individuals authorized by the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs to make recommendations as to how the VHA can improve. Both individuals testified before the committee with the Commission’s findings and answered questions from the committee members.

I liked these two meetings because they gave me a sense as to how work proceeds on Capitol Hill: in small committees with extensive discussion, research, and debate to ensure that the best conclusion was found. I also realized how slow the process can be; for example, the Commission on Care has been spent almost a year doing research and finding solutions.

After attending a meeting, I went back to the office to write what had happened in the meeting. I would send then send the summary to the legislative assistant who works in the same interest area as the subject of the meeting. In other words, my assignment is to write summaries about what happens in the meetings so that the legislative assistants can stay on top of new developments in their respective areas of interest.

After lunch, I attended another hearing. This time, it was for the House Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations. This hearing was entitled “The Growing Crisis in South Sudan.” The primary witness in this hearing was Ambassador Donald Booth, the Special Envoy to Sudan and South Sudan. Ambassador Booth gave an update on the situation in South Sudan, with human rights abuses, attacks on aid workers and U.S. diplomats, and widespread civil violence, as well as potential solutions and how the U.S. should move forward in its foreign policy with South Sudan. I also wrote a summary about this meeting when I returned to the office.

A major difference I noticed in this meeting compared to the meetings I attended this morning is that both the Chairman and Ranking Member (from opposite parties) agreed on the facts. There was no doubt about the topic of discussion, and some of the congress members even brought up the same points made by the members of the opposite party. This hearing was somewhat more engaging than the one I attended this morning, as international relations and foreign affairs are very interesting to me, and at this point, this is the major I would like to declare in college.

It was not easy writing the summaries, as it was my first time ever attending house committee meetings. Because the Capitol Complex is so big, it took me almost ten minutes just to get to the first meeting! Furthermore, it wasn’t always easy to hear what was going on, given the fact that the witnesses sat facing the committee members, and what they said wasn’t always clear. Tomorrow, the legislative assistant will give me feedback on the summaries I have written thus far.

In addition to that, I will be attending more House committee hearings, writing summaries of those hearings, and taking the full, formal tour of the Capitol! I am satisfied with the work I have done so far, and I hope there are many more interesting things for me to do!