My busy week in the Capitol!

What an exciting week!  First, all the AAPD interns were guests at the United Spinal Roll on Capitol Hill Awards Reception.  This year’s awards winners were Representatives James Langevin and John Carter, and Senator Tom Harkin.  I had the privilege of meeting Senator Harkin at the reception, and he graciously posed for photographs with me and several other interns.  It was a true honor to meet someone as committed to disability rights as Senator Harkin is. 

Left to right are: Angela Davis, Rob Stewart, Dwight Kelly, Theresa Taylor, Senator Tom Harkin, and Carrie Hall.

I also had the opportunity to meet United Spinal’s President and CEO, Paul Tobin.  I learned that he is also a social work student, studying for his PhD at Fordham.  I talked with him about the some social work MSW/PhD combined programs that I was looking into, and Mr. Tobin was very knowledgeable and helpful.  Finally, I met the family of Earle Powdrell, a aerospace engineer who had a brain stem stroke, and has locked in syndrome, the syndrome that also affects Stephen Hawking.   He and his family were in Washington to lobby for the affordable care act.  

Speaking of lobbying, I did exactly just that, on Capitol Hill, no less, with Yoshiko Dart and another intern.  We visited the offices of 19 Republican senators in the Hart, Dirksen, and Russell Buildings, and meeting, whenever possible, with foreign relations legislative aides about the "tangible and symbolic benefits" of ratifying the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities a treaty that the U.S. signed in '09. Like ADA, it is a bipartisan effort, and by ratifying the Convention, the U.S. can set an example to other countries by supporting these ADA ideals on an international level.  We also stopped by the offices of Senators McCain and Kerry to thank them for their bipartisan support.  The lobbying efforts of disability rights activists appears to be paying off, because senators began supporting the ratification, even ones who had previously been on the fence about it.

This week, my OSERS supervisor, Jennifer Sheehy, invited me to my very first Divas Dinner, where I met an incredible network of women who share Women Power and Disability Pride.  These women are so supportive of each other, and were so welcoming to both myself and the other two interns who attended.   What a powerful, empowering evening!

 During this busy week, I was a guest at the 51^st Annual Congressional Charity Baseball Game.  I had never been to a real ballpark before, so this was a treat.  The Democrats had a really good team this year, but win or lose, the important thing about the evening was that it was fun and for charity. 

I also experienced my first derecho this week; yikes!  Once was definitely enough.  A friend of mine, who lives in Maryland, texted me to warn me of the impending storm.  Thankfully, my son, and my service animals/family were home and safe in Ivory Tower. 

I am so grateful to the AAPD for all of the experiences I am having this summer.  They have informed and shaped me in so many positive ways, and I could never thank everyone at AAPD enough, but I will try:

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!

H. R. 3566

Had my first experience on the Hill last week. On Wednesday, I attended a House Judiciary Subcommittee on Constitution, hearing testimony related to bill H. R. 3566. H. R. 3566 is a bill written by Rep. Dan Lungren (R-CA) which, the author claims, will address some predatory ADA lawsuits which have been targeting small businesses in his state of California. The bill would require notification to the business owner and a wait period of up to 120 days before a lawsuit could be filed against the place of public accommodation not in compliance with ADA. This notification and hold period, will, proponents argue, allow businesses to come into compliance without having to face a lawsuit which could put them out of business.

Opponents of the Bill argued that the measure will promote a further lack of enforcement of an already chronically under-enforced law – the ADA. As Mr. Andy Levey, witness against the bill said, the measure will make voluntary implementation of ADA standards extremely unlikely, since without threat of immediate lawsuits, businesses will have no incentive to comply with the law before they receive a letter notifying them of a violation.  But Lungren’s testimony and the other Republican witness, recounted stories of small businesses forced out of business by lawsuits they could not afford, filed by lawyers who had little interest in accessibility and were rather making a career off of class-action lawsuits aimed at small businesses.

Like so much of Politics, it was not until the smoke and posturing cleared that I was actually able to make some sense of what I had witnessed. Talking it over with one of my colleagues at the National Council on Disability, a couple key issues came to light. While one of the key arguments for the bill was based on the fact that small business owners did not have an understanding of ADA regulations, there was nothing in the current bill to address this information problem. Also, while Rep. Lungren said the bill was designed to address small “mom and pop” businesses, the law is, in fact, not limited to small businesses and could, if passed, have wide-sweeping implications for corporations as well. Also California has in fact gone above the federal standard with regard to ADA, and allows damages for those not in compliance. This fact, is in part behind the predatory lawsuit problem in that state. 

Week 4

June 25-July 1, 12'

It was a very interesting week.... The Supreme Court ruling on the Affordable Care Act (ACA), a number of deadlines at work, beautiful weather (with the exception of last night) and a number of exciting briefings, panel discussions, networking events, etc. This next week promises to be another amazing week--with a number of items on the docket at work and visitors coming to town later in the week! 

One thing that really stood out to me in terms of the Supreme Court ruling on the ACA was being able to experience the immediate reactions of individuals who have been fighting for years for consumer rights (specifically seniors in my case at the NCOA). The anxiety leading up to the decision and the excitement co-workers expressed afterwards were both memorable experiences. It will be interesting to see what kind of impact this ruling has on our country in the years to come. Will it drive down costs (as promised) or will it add billions to our already ridiculous debt in this country? Many attorneys I have spoken with say it is bad policy (regardless of which side of the fence one stands on). There are so many variables involved that it makes for a difficult fix regardless.... I would be interested in hearing what others in the health care areana have to say about the decision and what might follow.

There are so many opportunities for growth and professional development here in Washington DC! There simply is not enough time. I feel like it was just yesterday that I arrived.... and now as I look at the calendar, this internship experience will be half way complete after this coming week. Crazy! I look forward to taking advantage of any and every opportunity for networking and personal growth during the remaining time. My roommate recently brought up a great idea, learning sign language (or at least becoming introduced to it during our remaining time left). I like it! If anyone else comes accross an interesting opportunity, I would be more than willing to join in the fun. 

What does making a difference mean?  I mean, I know that I want to make a difference in people's lives, but what does that really mean?  And what kind of a difference can I make?  I want so badly to help others.  I always have.  My parents say that even when I was teeny tiny I was doing things to help others.  I also want to give back to the world what I have received from so many people along the way.  Yes, I have been discriminated against, and stigmatized, but so too have I had people help me along the way.  Often I have sought out that help, but it has been given.  I want to be able to help others, too.  I want to be one of those individuals who change the course of peoples' lives, and most of them may not know my name or that I even exist, and that is perfectly fine with me, as long as their lives are better.

For a long time I though I would make a difference through counseling, and don't get me wrong, I loved the counseling part, I did not like the hours of my previous job that had me doing counseling.  I was working all the time, and I was having difficulty separating my life from work life, when most of my life was work life and yet I couldn't share that life with my family.  I had to keep confidentiality (which I totally believe in), but it mean that I was losing a big part of me, because I was losing that family part. 

I decided there was more that I could do at a macro level.  I figured that I could touch more peoples' lives by doing policy and advocacy work than I could doing therapy at a community level where I was starting to feel miserable.  I decided that my stage needed to be bigger.  I have been learning about disability at a global level.  I have been learning how people are treated around the world.  I cannot sit back and let the things happen that I have learned about.  If I do not try to do something about them, I do not know how I could live with myself.  I have to at least try to get things changed, even if I can only make small changes.

Small changes is what I need to remind myself of when I get frustrated or concerned that I am not making a difference.  I have been upset recently, thinking that I have not been making a difference with my time here in D.C. and Dana asked me to rethink that a little bit.  She is right.  I came to D.C. from Iowa, where I had been almost totally isolated from the disability advocacy world.  That does not mean that it is non-existent there, it means I did not know how to access it there.  I have met so many people and made so many connections while I have been here.  I now know more people in the disability world.  I need to remind myself of that and to take more advantage of those connections.  That is really what I came to D.C. to do.  I wanted to learn more about the advocacy world, to get connected, to see what it is all about.  I wanted to see if I thought this really was the right field for me.  I think that advocacy really is.  Maybe next week I will write about the big project I am working on.  It is in its infancy, but I have made some steps and that is a lot more than I could say a month ago.

This hard week

Well this week went by very fast just like tte other weeks. I helped with the last week of the Camp for the Blind and hard of seeing campers. I went to the Newsmuseam with them and had lots of fun there. We all brocasted ourselves and I did one too. Every day of the camp I had lunch with the campers. We laughed alot and had lots of fun. Also I am doing a mitvzah of helping a blind person named Andrew get to the men/s room and to the metro every day. I love helping him and we are really getting to know each other. On Friday it was the last day of camp and the campers and I had a party in the room for the last day. I also said goodbye to Tolson by throwing him a kiss while he left the room. On thrusday he gave me a kiss while Michelle and I were waiting for the campers in the lobby of the libeary in the morning. I am going to miss all of the campers. They were all so nice and very funny. Well until next week

SEE YOU ALL NEXT SUNDAY.... MELISSA

Vocabulary for Capital Hill Interns

Ask (n.) – A request, often the focal point of a meeting.
“What’s your ask, Ms. Lobbyist?”
“As always, my ask is funding.”

Ownership (n.) –  A feeling of investment in, and responsibility for, the outcome of a particular project; a feeling that the success of a particular project will make one look good in others' eyes. Hill staffers try to encourage politicians, and other staffers, to feel ownership of projects such as bills and events, as someone feeling ownership of a project is more likely to put in continuous effort to ensure the project's success.
"This regulation is Joe's baby, but his boss doesn't feel the same kind of ownership over it."

One-pager (n.) – A memo or document which is only one page (one side) in length. “Two-pagers” (two sides, or one page double-spaced) also exist, but are less popular than one-pagers because they take twice as long to read.
“I don’t have time to read this 73-page document – why don’t you read it and write me a one-pager that sums it up?”

To be in the weeds (v.) –  To discuss or debate the fine details of an expansive and complicated "bigger picture," for example a law, regulation, or legal decision. People are likely to use this phrase when they feel that a discussion has become too technical and jargon-heavy, or when they find the details being discussed unimportant.
“Should we start the event at 8:00, or 8:05?”
“Woah, you’re really in the weeds here! I think we should focus out first and decide what we want to do at the event.”

To run something up the flagpole (v.) – To pass along a message or idea to one's boss, boss's boss, etc., until it reaches the top of the chain of command.
“What you’re asking me for isn’t really my decision, but I’ll run it up the flagpole.”

The Ultimate Measure...

Last night we had a storm hit DC. Before this storm hit things were quiet, when my roommate went to the store for me earlier that evening, she even commented on the stillness and humidity. Twenty minutes after she returned, though, the wind picked up rather quickly and very strongly. I was pretty sure the tree outside our window was going to snap. Then, this morning I woke up to the sun shinning with the only evidence of a storm being the bits of tree debris on the ground.

Life works the same way sometimes. Things seem so calm and peaceful and than BOOM it all blows up in your face sin a moment. I have never been very good at handling these boom moments in my life. I am getting better at it but, for sure, I have some work to do. Since getting down to DC it seems that one thing after another has hit me. My grandmother’s death, some other family stuff, the realization that statistics are against me living a full independent life and my body being uncooperative. It has been very freighting and part of my came vey close to snapping under the pressure.

Today I went strolling through the National Mall and I ended up at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial. One of the quotes on the wall was the following: “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” I was convicted by this quote. You see, my faith has always been what has sustained me. Even before I came to understand God through the lens of Christianity I still believed that God existed and that alone sustained me through life’s storms.  Yet, through this particular storm I have been ignoring God, except as a recipient of my anger and fears.

This evening I read the following verse: “call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.” (Psalm 50:15). I will trust that my God hears my cry even in the midst of this storm. I will believe that He will deliver me. I will also trust Him with the way He chooses to deliver me. It may not be what I would want or expect but I know that He is trustworthy and that I exist not for my own desires but for His glorification alone. I will stand on my faith in this time of challenge and controversy because my faith is the ruler by which I want to be measured.