House Hearings

Federal budgeting

Friday, April 19th, 2013

Earlier this week I attended an Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies House Appropriations subcommittee hearing, led by Chairman Robert Aderholt, R-AL 4th District with primary witness Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture. I don’t consider myself particularly economically inclined. Reading about the rise and fall of the stock market leaves me with more [...]

Field trips

Sunday, April 14th, 2013

I wish every vet student could experience these four weeks in D.C. I am extremely grateful to be able to participate in this externship, as I have come in contact with some very cool people! Everyone seems very willing to talk to impressionable young vet students. On Thursday, Zach and I visited the FDA Center [...]

Crawfish, Caslick’s, and Girl Scouts

Monday, June 11th, 2012

It’s 9 pm on Saturday night, and I’m crammed on the end of a ten person table sitting right by the restrooms (I literally have to move my chair when people open the door) at the Vienna Inn Restaurant. I just ordered dinner with my wife, Lauren, my brother and two of his Naval Academy [...]

What a Mighty Long Acronym you Have!

Friday, July 8th, 2011

The better to confuse you with my dear. DHS at 9, PDUFA at 12, RHOB at 2… wait what? DC is all about acronyms, all the time. I’ve been making my way around Washington and Virginia through a series of meetings and appointments, and almost every one of them has had a 3 to 4 [...]

The Antibiotic Dilemma

Friday, June 18th, 2010

  Issues over the use of antibiotics have been raging on for years. The scientific data is complex, the economic implications are vast and public opinion is continually being molded through public relations efforts. When discussing antibiotic resistance, no one argues the phenomenon of microevolution and the impact that selection pressure has on development of [...]

Silly Calendar

Thursday, June 10th, 2010

What day is it? This calendar can’t be right. There is no way that its only Wednesday. So much has happened already this week. Last night I met my first Senator, John Thune, from South Dakota. Wait a minute…there’s a South Dakota? Who knew. But seriously, he is a Co-sponsor and lead champion of the [...]

Jaywalking & Jane Goodall

Thursday, March 19th, 2009

“Hey Lady! Stop right there!” roared the capitol police officer. I had adapted to the D.C way of jaywalking, but apparently at the crosswalk next to Capitol South metro it’s unacceptable. I later found out this officer is notorious for yelling at jaywalking pedestrians. Still on Monday at 8:00 a.m., I was shocked and there [...]

Discussing antibiotics

Tuesday, September 30th, 2008

Thursday started out with me going to a Minnesota Morning Breakfast with Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN). One of the highlights is a pastry called Potica (puh-tet-zah): A traditional Slovenian pastry from the Iron Range. The pastry itself was delicious and the event was fun. Senator Klobuchar was walking around listening to constituents for about 45 [...]

Back and forth

Thursday, September 18th, 2008

Tuesday was a busy day again (don’t I say that everyday?). We spent the morning making contacts and working on a new letter to send to the House Judiciary Committee regarding H.R. 6598 (the bill on transport of horses for the purpose of slaughter) that was being marked up by the Wednesday morning. It doesn’t [...]

Opportunity is everywhere…

Friday, June 13th, 2008

Prior to arriving on the Hill, I had told colleagues that I felt I would either really enjoy or strongly dislike this externship. Fortunately, the former opinion prevailed, and I am having an amazing experience. Each day brings new opportunities, and I am able to impact veterinary medicine by raising awareness of issues currently facing [...]