Shameless, I know. And in a congressional bathroom too, haha! Oh well.
I also attended my very first congressional hearing today! Well, technically it wasn't a hearing but rather a markup. A markup is when the committee (or in this case, subcommittee) gathers to make amendments/changes to bills. I attended a markup by the Constitution and Civil Justice Subcommittee, which is part of the larger House Judiciary Committee. The bill up for discussion was H.R. 1797, or the District of Columbia Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. In short, the bill would prohibit late-term abortions in the District of Columbia. Later, an amendment to extend the bill to include the United States in its entirety was passed and referred to the entire committee. Now, if you know me well enough, you know how I feel about a woman's right to an abortion. So, for the sake of keeping this blog semi-professional, I won't get into petty partisan details. However, I will add that while the subcommittee did have several distinguished congressmen (Rep. Conyers from Michigan and Rep. Nadler from New York to name a few) not ONE woman was on the subcommittee. Just think about that for a moment. Nevertheless, the markup was extremely entertaining. I can't wait to attend my next one later this week!
Rep. Conyers from Michigan. He was fantastic throughout the markup!
The House Judiciary Committee room! I was super early. #typicaltaryn
Other than that, today has been a pretty typical day! Oh, but I did want to add something before I signed off for the night. Being that I have lived in D.C. for over a week now, I do feel that I am slowly becoming a honorary resident. Thus, I would like to enlighten my friends and family back home--who may be contemplating a trip to D.C. in the near future-- on some of the proper D.C. etiquette rules. They are as follows:
- When you are going up or down an escalator, STAND to the right if you don't want to walk so that people can walk past you on the left-hand side. People here are busy and in a rush. That rule used to annoy me but now it irks me when people stand on the left. Please, don't do this!
- When you are on the Metro and you are about to get off at the next stop, PLEASE get up and start walking toward the door so that you are ready to exit. Or else, you probably will miss your stop and make a lot of people angry. My UGA folks should already know this!
- In D.C., you are going to have to go through a lot of security/metal detectors. So, please be prepared at all times. If you carry a pocket-knife, wear a lot of metal items, or anything of that sort, please be ready BEFOREHAND so that you don't hold up the line!
- Yes, things are ridiculously expensive here. But no bargaining. This is D.C.; things are not cheap here so get over it and splurge a little!
- Whenever you are in town, it common courtesy to take the non-paid intern out to a fancy dinner. So, whoever wants to claim me, just let me know. Thanks!
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