Congressional Rounds

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Monday found us again in DC with an easterly breeze off the Potomac making the day comfortable. First on the agenda was a Capitol tour and the make or break issue is the tour guide. Ours was both informed and enthusiastic, A win for our side.

Bets needed some energy, so off to the Rayburn building for lunch. As we sat down, 2 tables away just finishing lunch was the “Bulldog” Henry Waxman. He was meeting with 2 or 3 others and when they all left the table, he cleaned up the table and took all the trays to the trash area. Not your typical politico.

Next it was off to Senator Boxer’s office to pickup tickets to the Senate gallery as they were convening at 3:00 to discuss the DoD appropriation. It was about a mile and half from the Rayburn building to the Hart building up the hill. Additionally the capitol building blocked the breeze, so the walk was a bit uncomfortable (reality - I was sweating bullets). We walked over to the Senate side of the Capitol and finally were escorted (security is still extreme and I had to give up my car keys) into the gallery. An aside: next time you all watch the “State of the Union” notice how many times the gallery stands to applaud. This is done to relieve the discomfort of sitting in the gallery. If you are 5' 2" and weigh less than 100 lbs, the seats are designed for you.

The floor of the Senate was almost empty (normal state) except for members of the Armed Services committee. Harry Reid was speaking as we entered and turn the floor over to Senator Carl Levin (committee chair), then to minority leader John Warner (VA), to Kit Bond and finally the games were on as Senator Bond introduced 12 Republican amendments to the appropriation bill. Following his pontificating, Senator Levin and other Democrats met. with Bond ,Warner, and 4 or 5 Republicans to do some finger pointing and arm twisting. My knee pain finally got the best of me and we left, however there was a tricky few seconds as there was concern if I could stand before tumbling onto the Senate floor.

Senate business over, we headed for the Library of Congress (across the street), but due to construction we walked all the way through the Capitol (out the house side) and finally had an almost clear path to the Library. One of the exhibitions was on the creating of our government which was outstanding. Included was a Library of the 9K+ books Jefferson donated and this was where Bets was when they were closing the doors and kicking us out. Boy those folks get pushy when 5:00 rolls around.

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Photos

Our Capitol Building
View from the Southwest side where the tours gathered

Looking West
From Capitol steps at the mall to the Washington and Lincoln memorials

Capitol Entrance
Through the doors above the steps to the rotunda

Rotunda
Snap of a portion of the Rotunda. There is no way to capture the majesty of this room

Library of Congress
Unbelievable views of the construction and artwork