The view from the Hill

Last week I traveled to Washington, DC, to get some answers from the people who represent us in Congress. The result was perhaps the three most educational days of my career as a journalist.

I’ve always said one of the things I love most about my job is the access I get to people and places most people might not otherwise get. While Rep. Mike McIntyre, Sen. Richard Burr and Sen. Kay Hagan all promise to be as accessible as possible, the busy schedule of a member of Congress often leaves just a few minutes for them to meet constituents. So I am thankful for the time and access they gave me last week to ask questions for you. Those answers are featured in my three-part series "WWAY Goes to Washington" airing this week on Good Morning Carolina and WWAY NewsChannel 3 at 6 p.m.

Like I said, I learned a lot during my visit to Capitol Hill. Some of it was historical, like Rep. McIntyre pointing out to me that a giant painting outside the House chamber of the signing of the Constitution shows a member of the North Carolina delegation signing the basis for our nation’s laws with another North Carolinian waiting to take the quill. Some of it was personal, like Sen. Burr explaining that he began driving a 1974 Volkswagen Thing around the nation’s capital because as a freshman Congressman, he couldn’t afford to have a better car just for his time in Washington, or the finagling it took to get an antique desk for his office, including a late-night move by the Senator himself. Some of it was procedural, like Sen. Hagan waiting on a lottery based on seniority (she’s No. 92 in the Senate right now) for her chance for eight hours to pick out available office space so she can finally move out of the basement of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

I also learned that the pace of the day for a member of Congress is truly rapid. I met up with Rep. McIntyre at 8:30 Tuesday morning at a breakfast he hosted for county commissioners from the 7th Distirct at the Capitol Visitor’s Center. It ended around 9:30, and the Congressman raced back to his office to prepare for other business. I followed with one of his staffers. As soon as I got there, he invited me to go back to the Capitol with him, where he was to preside over the House from 10:30 a.m. to noon. Luckily I left my gear in his office, because I don’t know how I would’ve kept up with him: Down the hall, into an elevator, down another hall, across a parking garage, onto the House subway, up the escalator into the Capitol, down another hall, up an elevator and around a corner, where he told me about the North Carolina connection in the Constitution-signing painting as he escorted me into the Members Gallery of the House. There it was a brief lesson on the House chamber before he raced downstairs to open the session. When the session ended with an exhausted speakers list after only about 25 minutes, we raced back to his office and did a 20-minute interview before he spoke with some constituents as he sprinted off to a lunch with Pakistani officials and other members of the Terrorism Subcommittee and later a meeting at the White House.

The next day I began my day at another breakfast for NC county commissioners at the National Republican Club. From there, I rode with Sen. Burr in his Thing through the Capitol grounds and over to his office at the Russell Senate Office Building. Now that was an experience.

"They think I’m crazy," Burr said of his Washington brethren when they see his car. "And so far I have them convinced I am."

Burr also told me seniority is everything in the Senate. That was obvious just looking at his office and that of Sen. Hagan. Ironically, Burr’s office used to belong to the late Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, who is the only other Senator I had visited before last week. It is roomy by Congressional standards, and Burr’s personal office evokes images of a hunting lodge, with plush furniture, deer head and a fireplace (the Senator says he is not allowed to use) as the decor. Meanwhile, Hagan and her staff are stuck in that temporary space in the Dirksen basement. It is white walls, desks, boxes and staffers in a few cramped rooms. In her personal office, Hagan has a map (that she’s very proud of) of North Carolina behind her desk and a few pieces of furniture. "This is Liddy Dole’s old furniture," Hagan told me, referring to the woman she defeated for the seat in November.

While the content of my interviews with the trio of representatives was certainly enlightening, it cannot compare to the experience of seeing how it all really works. Journalist or not, I encourage anyone who may visit Washington to take the time and try to meet the people who are your voice in Congress. I think like me, you’ll come away with a better understanding of the process.