In the murky, steamy humidity of summer, the Federal Relations Committee, along with our counterparts from New York, had the opportunity to advocate for financial aid issues. We had the opportunity to see the wheels of government slowly turn and came away with the knowledge that most of us made the right career choice to go into financial aid, rather than government. The Capitol Symposium luckily coincided with the Mark-Up of the Higher Education Reauthorization Act in the House of Representatives. Without any preparation, we all went to see the committee in action. Upon arriving at the conference room, we took turns going in to view the proceedings. While rotating to view the committee, we were able to pull Congressman Bishop (D-NY) out in to the hallway to do some real lobbying. After all, doesn’t the term lobbyist come from the place that the deals are made, in the lobby and in secret? After discussing his views with us and taking some pictures with him, we felt like professionals except without the large paychecks that most lobbyists receive. Back in the committee hearings, most would be surprised at the level of tension amongst members. The rhetoric at times grew nasty and tinged with metaphors of patriotism and loyalty. Representative Norwood (R-GA) wanted limits on grants to colleges and universities for what he saw as “anti-American activities,” which prompted Representative Owens (D-NY) to respond that he trusted Secretary of Education Secretary Spellings enough not to fund anti-American activities.

The red state party versus the blue state party rivalry was evident as well. Debates and arguments during the committee meeting were not based solely on the merits of educational policy. Representatives Boehner (R-OH, chairman of the committee) and Ryan (D-OH) got into quite a lengthy argument about whether or not he could speak according the House protocol. In case after case, the chairman sealed an amendment to death, or glided it to a successful passage with nothing more than a voice vote. In most circumstances, members requested an actual vote to be done at a later time. We saw the defeat of bills encouraging college book rentals and a minority fellowship named after deceased former Representative Patsy Mink (D-HI). Patsy’s daughter was there to put a personal lobby for the bill to no avail. In some circumstances, however, the chairman liked the idea being presented and silenced most opposition letting the legislation pass with a large majority. This was the case with Representative Wu’s (D-OR) amendment to encourage more partnerships with four-year institutions.

Later that evening, we got a crash course in Advocacy 101 by Buddy Blakey, Esq. We learned the basics about how to get legislative assistant’s and elected officials to listen to our concerns. We examined how to handle officials who support issues that we do not and vice versa. Correct protocol in how to address those people we hoped to meet was addressed and the importance to know the background story of our legislators to find ways to encourage them to support our stances. For instance, Representative Keller (R-FL) is the only member on the education committee to have received a Pell Grant, so we should use that to our advantage when meeting with him.

The next day we returned to the hill to visit legislative offices. Each individual made appointments with their representatives so that we could explain our position on two or three issues so that we could gauge support, give our input into the current system, and most importantly begin working relationships with legislative aides and elected officials that would be able to help us get our issues addressed. For other offices that we were not able to get appointments with (as most members this day showed up to the hearing for the contentious Title IV debate), we delivered letters with our positions on financial aid issues and a promise that we would soon be in touch to discuss our proposals.

It was an exciting opportunity to see how a bill becomes a law in a non-animated form. There were high points to our conference, such as getting members out of the committee to meet with us personally and give us words of encouragement. However, there were low points as well, where many offices did not care to hear from us unless we supported their stance or announced ourselves as a constituent. We learned that legislation does not happen overnight, and even if our wants are not satisfied during this cycle, we will continue to build relationships, and hopefully we will be able to make an even stronger impression in the future.

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