0800 - 1645.
Thursday was quite a surprise. Not all through the day, of course. There were many instances of "Capitol normalcy," i.e. school visits, lobbyists and so forth. Thursday's features were the Iowa Clean Water Association, who provided goodies and free lunches, Senator McCain sitting in on the Republican caucus, and a surprise visit by Gov. Culver. It was such as surprise that we had to read the paper to discover when and why he was coming: it turns out that he was signing the cigarette tax bill that the House had passed last Tuesday. There was much rejoicing, but we also got cake!
Today's actual session was relatively innocuous, even with the specter of the "right-to-work" debate hanging over our heads. When I parked in the morning, I walked into the Capitol with a Legislative Services Agency (LSA) page. She was hauling a sleeping bag and pillow, and told me she expected to stay the night. The discussion on the floor among the doormen was an all-night debate followed by more debate Friday. I heard anywhere from 140 - 400 amendments had been filed on the bill, so I well expected a long night. The House's actions during the day seemed prophetic of a long night as well: the Republicans were in a short caucus for about an hour, but the Democrats started caucusing at noon, delayed the 1:00 session, and did not come out of caucus until about 4:30. At that time, the House reconvened, and Majority Leader McCarthy requested adjournment of the House until Monday.
We were all stunned, of course, but in retrospect it appears that the Democrats did not feel they had enough votes to pass the bill. Even with the four-day session, I still put in 40+ hrs, so I am beginning to feel well-adjusted to the work as a page. I've made friends with the bill room clerks in both chambers, the House switchboard ladies, the doormen, and some of the other pages.
Summary of the week: cigarette tax passed, unamended, and was signed into effect. Right-to-work has been postponed, so I wonder if we will hear about it next week or if the wait will continue. I suppose we'll all have to wait and see. Until next week ...
Friday, March 16, 2007
Day 3
0800 - 1800
Wednesday was not a long day, but I was so tired by the end of it I went to bed early. The manner of the day was really pomp and circumstance. In addition to the school children that normally frequent the Capitol, we celebrated St. Patrick's Day with a representative from the Irish Parliament giving a very moving speech. A former and current representative did a jig with an Irish flag, a clerk sang and strummed Danny Boy, and 300-some cookies were distributed.
Later in the day, an Irish-dance middle school group did their thing on the first floor ... those kids knew their stuff. Iowa Airports on the Hill served Blue Sky ice cream, and Kappa Delta Phi provided cheesecake. Excellent day for desserts all around.
The actual political process Wednesday was rather conventional. By conventional, I mean nothing radical was discussed, all of the bills debated passed, and so forth. We stayed until 6, not very late compared to what we expected was coming. Right to work, and all that.
Wednesday was not a long day, but I was so tired by the end of it I went to bed early. The manner of the day was really pomp and circumstance. In addition to the school children that normally frequent the Capitol, we celebrated St. Patrick's Day with a representative from the Irish Parliament giving a very moving speech. A former and current representative did a jig with an Irish flag, a clerk sang and strummed Danny Boy, and 300-some cookies were distributed.
Later in the day, an Irish-dance middle school group did their thing on the first floor ... those kids knew their stuff. Iowa Airports on the Hill served Blue Sky ice cream, and Kappa Delta Phi provided cheesecake. Excellent day for desserts all around.
The actual political process Wednesday was rather conventional. By conventional, I mean nothing radical was discussed, all of the bills debated passed, and so forth. We stayed until 6, not very late compared to what we expected was coming. Right to work, and all that.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Day 2 -- Cigarette Tax Debate
0800 - 2145.
Today was long and warm (77ยบ), so the summary will be just that -- summarily short. I felt like I was settling into the routine more today, and I didn't feel faced with anything too daunting. Since I am currently assistant-sergeant-at-arms, whenever the sergeant-at-arms goes on break or leaves for the day, I take his spot at the desk near the back of the room. It's a fun job, when its not boring, but when you aren't busy you can listen to the debates or talk to the doormen, who are remarkably interesting.
The actual house business today was alternatively interesting and tedious. Several bills passed unopposed, and we pages passed out a significant pile of admendments and revisions to the "big bill" of the day -- the cigarette tax. For a more comprehensive look at the debate during the day, check out this corresponding blog, written by a fellow page. I can tell you what happened after 5 PM, however. The cigarette tax bill's admendments were still being considered through 7:30ish, the bill went back to a financial committee (Approportianment), and was eventually changed to match Senate File 128, the Senate's corresponding bill. Sooner or later, the House got around to voting on the actual bill. I was one of the last pages to leave, but they had not quite voted by 9:45. I just tuned into the live House audio feed, and it appears that the cigarette tax has passed. More information later ... until then, stay cooler than the Capitol.
Today was long and warm (77ยบ), so the summary will be just that -- summarily short. I felt like I was settling into the routine more today, and I didn't feel faced with anything too daunting. Since I am currently assistant-sergeant-at-arms, whenever the sergeant-at-arms goes on break or leaves for the day, I take his spot at the desk near the back of the room. It's a fun job, when its not boring, but when you aren't busy you can listen to the debates or talk to the doormen, who are remarkably interesting.
The actual house business today was alternatively interesting and tedious. Several bills passed unopposed, and we pages passed out a significant pile of admendments and revisions to the "big bill" of the day -- the cigarette tax. For a more comprehensive look at the debate during the day, check out this corresponding blog, written by a fellow page. I can tell you what happened after 5 PM, however. The cigarette tax bill's admendments were still being considered through 7:30ish, the bill went back to a financial committee (Approportianment), and was eventually changed to match Senate File 128, the Senate's corresponding bill. Sooner or later, the House got around to voting on the actual bill. I was one of the last pages to leave, but they had not quite voted by 9:45. I just tuned into the live House audio feed, and it appears that the cigarette tax has passed. More information later ... until then, stay cooler than the Capitol.
Monday, March 12, 2007
Day 1
Today was my first day as an Iowa House of Representatives page. That seems oddly anticlimactic, similar to the actual experience. This is not to say that I am not excited about going back tomorrow, but rather to note that working as a page seems to often consist of insanely busy moments followed by long periods of inaction, at least from the page's point of view. The representatives are all in committee or subcommittee meetings, talking to lobbyists or constituents, meeting in caucus, researching upcoming bills, and otherwise performing the functions of government.
The actual day for me began at 8:00 AM. The actual Monday session typically starts at 1:00 PM, so the veteran pages actually come in at 11:00 AM. However, being new, the "new pages" (myself included) arrived at the Capitol bright and early to "learn the ropes." The most important part of the job, and currently the most daunting, is to learn the names, numbers, and placements of the representatives within the chamber. I will be studying tonight for our test in 2-3 weeks over this material. No doubt it will prove practically useful in the meantime.
Anyways, much of the actual work during the day is finding bills, finding representatives, bringing bills back, leaving messages, running errands (on the Capitol grounds), setting up committee meeting rooms, and so forth. Not difficult work (so far), but it can keep the pages busy, from what I've seen today.
On to the actual politics of the day. As I mentioned before, the session began at 1:00 PM, there was some brief announcements, most of them regarding various basketball success to reach the state tournament, and then the chamber stood at ease for some time. There was a brief flurry of activity later in the day, when four bills were considered. One was debated for some time, but only for clarification: all four passed unanimously. Then committees went into meeting, the House recessed until they returned, and they had not yet done so when we pages left at 6:30 PM. Rumor from the clerks has it that they were discussing the "fair share/right to work" bill, and that debate could go until the wee hours of the morning.
And now I finish this post, a fitting end to a semi-momentous day. Keep reading, because rumor has it that we will be debating the cigarette tax tomorrow ...
The actual day for me began at 8:00 AM. The actual Monday session typically starts at 1:00 PM, so the veteran pages actually come in at 11:00 AM. However, being new, the "new pages" (myself included) arrived at the Capitol bright and early to "learn the ropes." The most important part of the job, and currently the most daunting, is to learn the names, numbers, and placements of the representatives within the chamber. I will be studying tonight for our test in 2-3 weeks over this material. No doubt it will prove practically useful in the meantime.
Anyways, much of the actual work during the day is finding bills, finding representatives, bringing bills back, leaving messages, running errands (on the Capitol grounds), setting up committee meeting rooms, and so forth. Not difficult work (so far), but it can keep the pages busy, from what I've seen today.
On to the actual politics of the day. As I mentioned before, the session began at 1:00 PM, there was some brief announcements, most of them regarding various basketball success to reach the state tournament, and then the chamber stood at ease for some time. There was a brief flurry of activity later in the day, when four bills were considered. One was debated for some time, but only for clarification: all four passed unanimously. Then committees went into meeting, the House recessed until they returned, and they had not yet done so when we pages left at 6:30 PM. Rumor from the clerks has it that they were discussing the "fair share/right to work" bill, and that debate could go until the wee hours of the morning.
And now I finish this post, a fitting end to a semi-momentous day. Keep reading, because rumor has it that we will be debating the cigarette tax tomorrow ...
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Day 0.5
Today was my page orientation at the capitol building. They told us to come to the House Chamber, but neglected to note that all the doors would be locked, since the Capitol is closed on Sunday. So another page and I walked all the way around the building before some session 1 pages let us in. That was strange.
The briefing was long ... it was somewhat haphazard, so I hope I learned everything that I was supposed to. I still have nearly no idea what I'm going to be doing tomorrow ... so I suppose we'll find out. Haven't learned anything of a political nature yet, but no doubt I will be overwhelmed tomorrow.
The drive is about 15 minutes, but there is little - no traffic on Sundays. Tomorrow could be bad. The other pages seem nice - they threatened a hazing, but didn't follow through. Yet.
I suppose that's all for today - tomorrow will be the fun's beginning. Don't miss it, because I sure won't.
The briefing was long ... it was somewhat haphazard, so I hope I learned everything that I was supposed to. I still have nearly no idea what I'm going to be doing tomorrow ... so I suppose we'll find out. Haven't learned anything of a political nature yet, but no doubt I will be overwhelmed tomorrow.
The drive is about 15 minutes, but there is little - no traffic on Sundays. Tomorrow could be bad. The other pages seem nice - they threatened a hazing, but didn't follow through. Yet.
I suppose that's all for today - tomorrow will be the fun's beginning. Don't miss it, because I sure won't.
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