D.C. Adventures: My Life as a Congressman

My fellow congressmen and I

Acting as a congressman is tiring, time consuming, and emotionally draining while simultaneously being a fulfilling experience. Everyone writes and proposes bills to his or her own committee (or refers it to another committee). Each bill is dissected and thoroughly review by the committee . If the bill is passed by committee it moves on to the House of Representatives which would then transfer to the Senate and if the two agree, the president would sign the bill and make it a law. Although prior to my Washington DC excursion, I had some sort of idea of how Congress works, I never truly understood until I competed as a congressman in this mock congress competition.

Sitting in the airport, going home a winner

The Congress itself is very complex with its rules and parliamentary procedure. In addition, its very easy to see how issues between sides may arise; prior to my participation in this program I assumed that all Republicans were wacky right winged conservatives who only care about money. However, since I had to represent a Republican congressman from Oklahoma, it was interesting to see  how Republicans and Democrats share the same idea which is to protect the American people. It seems only clear differentiation between the two parties is the way they choose to go about executing specific policies. I am glad I participated in a program that could seamlessly educate competitors about politics and legislation without emphasizing competition. The mock Congress felt so genuine and I am so fortunate to have been able to take part in something of this nature.

As a congressman, I've learned how to properly author, sponsor, and submit legislation. I have made friends and future contacts. Most importantly, I realized why voting for the district representative and state senators are so important. I can't wait to be a congressman again.