General Discussion

Last edited Wed Jan 9, 2019, 11:16 AM - Edit history (1)

And s/he's absolutely right. Being in Congress is more than being a public advocate - much more.

As Dansolo said, legislating is a huge part of it. And that doesn't just mean proposing ideas. It means actually writing creating legislation, which requires tremendous work even before a bill is actually written which can take months and then even years. Legislators work with other Members, guide and oversee their legislative staff as they work with other Members' staffs, meet with experts and constituents, work with the Legislative Counsel's office to develop draft after draft to ensure the bills are constitutionally and legally sound and consistent, conduct extensive outreach to and coordination with outside groups and individuals to build support, and engage with other Members to gather co-sponsors and votes, among other things.

And that's just one aspect of legislating. It doesn't even touch working with other Members on THEIR legislation, creating a mechanism for sifting through and determining which of the thousands of OPBs (other people's bills) to co-sponsor. Not to mention getting up to speed on all of the bills on the floor and in committee that she has to vote on.

And speaking of committees, most new Members serve on two. Committee work is very grueling and requires a steep learning curve for even the sharpest and most intelligent Members.

Then there's work to be done on behalf of her district, such as business development, environmental protection matters, tax issues and bringing home money for local projects through appropriations, grants and other funding mechanisms, many of which require great knowledge and skills to to find, apply for and secure.

And that's on top of delivering prompt, thorough and expert constituent services, without which, regardless how big a superstar they are, a new Member will likely be voted out of office by voters who couldn't care less how often their representative is on national television or how popular they are with the base or how much they piss off the opposing party, if they can't help them get their veterans benefit snafu resolved.

Good constituent services requires a strong infrastructure in their DC and district office - in fact, that infrastructure is essential to the success of any Member and that requires management skills and extensive oversight. Managing a Congressional office is tantamount to running a multi-million dollar business and Members who have never run a business or managed a large staff or 7-figure budget have a lot to learn and need lots of advice and guidance from their colleagues, leadership and House staff to do it effectively.

And on top of all that, there are the day-to-day matters such as ethics rules, financial disclosures, House rules and procedures, the bell systems, voting procedures, what can and can't be done with the frank, scheduling, how to get from your office to the floor in time to vote,

So, to answer your question, there's plenty a new Member needs to learn.