Star Notes

“Working on the Hill”

By Richard K. Sele

Brigadier General (Retired), US Army

One of the more unique military experiences I had was serving as a Congressional Fellow on Capitol Hill in 2007. This year-long Fellowship is open to various government agencies and departments. There were seven of us selected from the Army that year. The program’s intent is to familiarize Fellows with the legislative process in order to serve in follow-on legislative liaison positions in the Pentagon. Liaisons assist the Army leadership in educating Members of Congress and staff on Army programs and requirements. The Fellowship program has expanded over the last several years to include a graduate program at George Washington University, increased number of Fellows, assignments to committee staffs, and is now open to Sergeants Major and other service equivalents.

Then-Lieutenant Colonel Sele as a Congressional Fellow in front of the United States Capitol

I was a Lieutenant Colonel at the time and served in the office of now-retired Rep Jim Saxton (R-NJ). Congressional offices that participated informed the Dept. of Defense on their preferred experience and branch of service for Fellows in their offices. Their preferences were usually related to their committee assignments. For example, the late Senator John McCain preferred naval aviators as his Fellows. Mr. Saxton preferred army officers with special operations experience since he served on the House Subcommittee on Terrorism, Unconventional Threats and Capabilities. Fellows were assigned to Republican and Democrat offices associated with various defense committees in both the House and Senate, and to authorizers (policy makers) and appropriators (allocate dollars to keep the nation running). As military officers we were all apolitical and remained that way while working as Fellows.

I just returned from a year in Iraq and Mr. Saxton needed someone to manage the Iraq portfolio so I was the obvious candidate. I also managed the Iran and terrorism portfolios. We served in civilian business attire as Legislative Assistants (LA’s) in our respective offices. I worked alongside other LA’s on Mr. Saxton’s personal staff who managed the remainder of his portfolios ranging from economic issues to fish and wildlife or foreign affairs and other military related matters.

My responsibilities included: writing speeches, floor statements, and talking points and questions for hearings; reviewing and making recommendations on legislation; drafting legislation; and accompanying him to any hearings, debates, or meetings related to Iraq, Iran, and terrorism. This included taking notes for him at meetings with Vice President Cheney, the GOP Iraq Working Group, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, as well as other senior government officials. As a result of this exposure I gained tremendous insight on issues from the stratosphere level.

My Hill experience was a memorable one for me. I gained greater appreciation for the incredible depth of knowledge these Members and their staffs have on issues. They take their oversight responsibilities very seriously. The LA’s who worked in Mr. Saxton’s office could easily have walked away to very high paying lobby jobs in the private sector but chose to remain with him in representing his constituents and advancing his legislative policy objectives.

One apolitical editorial comment: Like most Americans it saddens me to see Congress so divisive on the issues important to the nation. During my Fellowship prep I read as much as I could about the history of Congress. One of the themes that jumped out was how years ago Members would relocate their families to DC and spend the majority of their time there. It’s been the opposite for a while now. The Members I observed typically arrived at their Capitol Hill offices Monday afternoon or evening. They returned to their districts on Thursdays to work in their district offices Friday through the weekend. This meant they only had Tuesday, Wednesday, and part of Thursday to conduct business in DC. Some Members shared homes or apartments in DC since they had to maintain two places to live.

I wish Members would return to that “old way” of serving in Congress. When they relocated their families to DC it meant that their kids went to school together, played Little League together, some Congressmen and Senators coached youth sports teams together, their spouses socialized with each other, and they all worshipped together regardless of political affiliation. It’s a little tougher to act nasty and say derogatory things to a counterpart across the aisle when you know you might be enjoying a BBQ or seeing a school play together that weekend. They built respectful friendships, earned trust with one another, and were more open to compromise while still maintaining allegiance to their respective constituents and parties. It would be nice to see that collegial atmosphere again on Capitol Hill.