By Daniel Rothberg
Without a doubt, my favorite television show is "West Wing." I am obsessed. I love the characters for their dry wit, quick thinking and vast knowledge of government. I have seen every episode multiple times and I know far too much esoteric trivia about the show.
With that being said, you can only imagine my reaction when I found out that I had been appointed to go to Washington D.C this summer and work as a Page in the House of Representatives.
I arrived in Washington with my parents on July 3. The next day, we celebrated the Fourth of July by watching, from just outside the National Mall, an elaborate fireworks presentation that lit up the city. The next thing I knew, I was saying goodbye to my parents and heading off to my first day of work.
During my month in Washington, I worked for the Clerk of the House in the House Democratic cloakroom. Adjacent to the floor of the House of Representatives, the cloakroom is a small room, where congressmen can go during legislative business to make phone calls or just grab a bite to eat. Besides me, there were six other pages that worked in the cloakroom.
Some of my jobs in the cloakroom included answering phone calls from congressional offices and delivering bills, co-sponsor sheets, and extension of remarks to the rostrum. Because we had to answer phone calls from different offices, it was important for all of the Cloakroom Pages to keep track of the legislative schedule for the day. When there was not that much work to be done in the cloakroom, we would keep a careful watch on the House proceedings.
While I was working in the House of Representatives, the House considered and passed all of the appropriations bills for 2010. In addition, I watched debate on the House floor regarding the Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009 and Pay-Go Legislation. As I watched the proceedings in the House, I heard hundreds of one-minute speeches delivered on topics such as healthcare and our economy.
One of my fondest memories of being a Page was the tour that the pages received of the Capitol Dome. When we finally reached the top, they took us outside. There I stood, atop some 8,909,200 pounds of cast iron that had been laid almost 150 years ago. When I looked in front of me, I could see the Washington Monument. When I looked behind me, I could see The Supreme Court Building and the Library of Congress.
Another job of the Cloakroom Pages was to deliver messages or packages to Representatives during votes. In order to do this, all of the Cloakroom Pages were required to memorize the faces of the 256 Democratic members. While, at first this seemed to be a daunting task, using flashcards and quizzes, we were all able to learn their names and faces.
Besides working as a Page, I also attended classes at the Page School every morning before work. The Page School is located in the attic of the Library of Congress. At the Page School, we had a class on leadership, government and foreign affairs.
The Page Program provided me with a rare opportunity to meet students from every corner of the country. About 70 Pages served in my session. These Pages came from all different walks of life. This was probably one of the best parts of the experience for me. Especially coming from a big city like Los Angeles, it was valuable for me to meet other high school kids my age that came from smaller towns or different socioeconomic circumstances.
The United States House of Representatives Page Program was unlike any experience I have ever had or most likely will ever have in my entire life. While in Washington D.C., I gained a unique insight into the daily workings of our legislative system. Working in the House of Representatives made me admire even more, the hard work and long hours lawmakers invest to ensure that our country runs smoothly in a complicated world. This once-in-a-lifetime experience has renewed my belief that America has the capacity to accomplish great things even in hard times. Having had the honor and the privilege to serve the 111th Congress as a Page, I look forward to seeing what they achieve in the coming months.