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Amata’s Journal: In The Thick of Things

Washington, DC.  — I think God must be testing me to be sure I really want this job in Washington because since the November election, I have been here three times and in each instance I have been greeted by weather unfit for an island girl like me. I am told Washington had a mild fall and, by and large, winter has been reasonable so far, except on three occasions.

 

In November there was a cold snap that coincided with our freshman orientation week, which included lots of outdoor walking from our hotel to the Capitol. The first snow of the season fell on January 6, the bitterly cold day of our swearing-in. And the second snow fell the day we departed Washington by bus last week for a Republican joint House-Senate retreat in Hershey, Pennsylvania, home of the Hershey Chocolate Company.

 

I really didn’t have much time to think about the weather for the retreat, however, because I had just come into Washington following two consecutive overnight flights after which I stumbled off the plane into the arms of my awaiting husband, who immediately whisked me off to the Capitol to board one of the Hershey-bound buses carrying 247 Members of Congress, our spouses and, in some cases, our children, too.

 

Even though I had only been a Member of Congress for 10 days when the retreat commenced, I spent most of that time on airplanes or in Pago to attend the opening of the Fono, to which I had been invited formally by the Leadership. I could hardly have refused such a honor and, moreover, the Governor said if I was coming home he wanted to have the Fono leaders meet with both us us to go over ASG’s Washington priorities for the next two years.

 

At the same time, High Chief Pulu organized an official opening of American Samoa’s new Congressional District Office, where I was graced by the presence of the Governor, Fono leadership and high level traditional leaders, all on a Saturday afternoon. Making the most of my three days on island, I also witnessed a change of command ceremony for our Army Reserve unit, participated in a fun birthday celebration for one year-old CJ Sagiao at the Veterans Stadium, took in volleyball at the Marist gym in Malaeloa, caught up with a couple of medical doctors and other friends in Tafuna, attended the funeral of High Chief Tauanu'u in Nua and Se'etaga, went to two church services and had to’ana’i in Pago Pago Village.

 

Then back on a plane Monday and onto a bus Wednesday morning for the two-hour ride to Hershey. Because someone was arrested the previous day for threatening to poison House Speaker John Boehner just after another man was indicted for plotting to blow up the Capitol, I had much greater appreciation for the police escort of our convey. It is not uncommon in Washington to see traffic held up by police while a motorcade of the President or some foreign dignitary is whisked through the city but I realize now that it is not just a V.I.P. perk but a necessary security measure in this post-911 world. A dozen highly visible, large buses carrying over half the members of the U.S. legislative branch of government would make a mighty tempting target for some terrorists with rocket propelled grenades. 

 

As much as I would have preferred to spend some more time in Pago Pago, I could not pass up the congressional retreat because it was to have been the first time U.S. House and Senate Republicans were to have held a joint retreat. The setting away from Washington promised a rare opportunity to hold informal conversations with senators, which is harder to do than you might think, though we all work in the same building. The fact is that there are over 20,000 staff members supporting the 541 members of the House and Senate on a sprawling campus that contains a dozen or more buildings. There is barely enough time to get to know the members of your class and your committees in the House let alone the Senate, too. Meeting these senators took on added importance now that Republicans are in control of the upper chamber.

 

American Samoa is very, very fortunate that the new chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources is Lisa Murkowksi (R-AK) the daughter of former chairman Frank Murkowski (R-AK) and, with the retirement of Dan Akaka (D-HI), the passing of Dan Inouye (D-HI) and the youth of Hawai’i’s new senators, the last person in the senate to have been born in a territory. I had wonderful conversations with her on our current issues and she promised to follow up on some of those we discussed upon our return to Washington.

 

One dinner partner was Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and a lunch partner was Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP). I have known Chairman Alexander almost 40 years from the time he, as governor of Tennessee, was my father’s gubernatorial colleague in the 1970s. Moreover, he and my husband worked together a decade before that so we already had a long friendship.

 

With my intention to concentrate on health and education issues, I could not have asked for a better person to be chairman of the HELP Committee. In addition, his committee also has jurisdiction over minimum wage legislation.

 

Because I have been appointed to the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, I also was pleased to have at my lunch table Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA), the Chairman of the Senate Veterans Committee. I also spent time with Rep. John Kline (R-MN), the Chairman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce and with Paul Ryan, the Republican nominee for vice president in 2012 who now is Chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means.

 

At this point in the process, it is all a matter of networking and laying the groundwork for progressing our agenda. As we move along during the session, I will develop these relationships further to make sure we are included in bills that can help us, excluded from those that will hurt us and add provisions that will address our special needs.

 

All in all, I think we got off to a great start.