The first thing I did this morning was attend the House Committee on Foreign Affairs hearing entitled “Reforming the National Security Council: Efficiency and Accountability.” It was a full committee hearing whose main purpose was to discuss the alarming increase in size of the White House National Security Council (NSC), and the overwhelming bipartisan concerns regarding decreased congressional oversight in the United States’ foreign policy.
The meeting was eye-opening, as I knew nothing about the White House National Security Council prior to the hearing. Additionally, this meeting seemed to have the similar bipartisan, collaborative feel that was present in yesterday’s South Sudan hearing. In order to write my summary of the hearing, I had to do some more research on the NSC.
After lunch, I got to take the formal tour of the Capitol. This was more for me to learn, rather than me working for the staff. However, all interns in Ms. Kaptur’s office a required to take the tour, and even though I had already taken the tour, it was wonderful being able to see all of the important parts of the Capitol again, now more than twice as many years old compared to when I first toured the Capitol, as well as understanding more, given the fact that I learned so much in my history and social studies classes at Maumee Valley (many thanks to Mr. Cambisios and Mr. Green, 11th grade and 8th grade American history teachers). It also reminded me about the times during which our country’s stability has been tested its 240 years of existence, and this made me feel more even thankful toward the important individuals in history who protected the country so that we could have a functioning government and society today. Unfortunately, it took me almost a half hour just to get back to the office from my tour because I got lost several times attempting to navigate the Capitol Complex’s tunnel system.
The last thing I did today was attend the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific hearing entitled “Asia’s Growing Hunger for Energy: U.S. Policy and Supply Opportunities.” The main subject of the hearing was how developing Asian countries can find good, clean energy that they can depend on.
I liked my afternoon hearing because the subject was completely new to me. As I’ve already stated, my interests include foreign affairs, and although I do know about U.S. energy needs and U.S. foreign interests, I have never really thought about Asian energy needs, nor have I thought about what the U.S. can do to develop economic interests in Asia that specifically pertain to energy, so it was a very interesting meeting.
Tomorrow, my list of things to do includes finishing my summaries for the staffers.
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