House/Senate Meeting

Lobbying: Lessons

Thursday, May 13th, 2010

Library of Congress
It’s been almost a week since my last post and plenty has happened. This week’s key lesson is a difficult one to put into words, but it stems from many Americans’ view of lobbying. Many, including myself, hear the word “lobby” or “lobbyist” and instantly have a bad taste in their mouth. However, I [...]

Become your own Advocate!

Friday, January 22nd, 2010

This week I have joined the ranks of citizen activists and have lobbied on behalf of veterinarians across the country. Though I have done this at the state level, this experience was so different and magnified that they cannot even compare.
I was actually surprised at the ease of setting up meetings with the individuals that [...]

Below is just a sampling of the many things I’ve been doing…

Wednesday, April 29th, 2009

There are many perks to working on the Hill. One of those perks is the abundance of free food. AVMA, like many businesses and organizations, strategically contributes to the campaigns of Congressmen and Senators who hold a short reception where the contributors get to speak directly with the candidates. I went to three of these [...]

A Whirlwind… So Far

Friday, April 17th, 2009

Week 1: “One ticket for Union Station, please.” This was the usual way I started the morning in the Baltimore BWI train station in preparation for taking the MARC commuter rail train into Washington DC. As I gazed at my ticket expecting to see the cost read $6 instead I noticed the ticket read $18. [...]

H.R. 6598 moves out of committee

Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008

You can feel the uneasiness in the air around DC. Given time to think about $700 billion Wall Street bailout, Democrats and Republicans alike are starting to doubt this action. In the middle of trying to deal with the worst economic crisis since the Dust Bowl, the Judiciary committee still found time for partisan pandering [...]

Its All Politics

Thursday, September 11th, 2008

Day 3 at the AVMA-GRD was an interesting one. We started the morning by going over to Rayburn for a markup in the Judiciary Committee where the bill H.R. 6598 regarding criminalizing the transport of horses for slaughter was undergoing review. We arrived early to ensure a good spot in line and a seat in [...]

The Law of Motion

Thursday, June 12th, 2008

Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.
The truth of this particular statement is never more evident than here in Washington.  Realizing that our political system works with a two party system with extremes at each end, a majority of us end up somewhere in the middle thus no party strays too far from center.  Generally [...]