Congressman Quayle has been in Washington D.C. meeting with the other 81 new Republicans elected to the US House in 2010! His wife Tiffany drew for him in the office lottery & landed the 22nd spot (good thing, he will have an office with elevator service).
Ben wanted me to pass on his best wishes to all the PM readers for a Happy Thanksgiving holiday!
3 Arizona lawmakers taking first steps on Capitol Hill
Nov. 20, 2010
WASHINGTON - After only three days here, Rep.-elect David Schweikert had mastered the winding underground tunnels that connect House office buildings to the U.S. Capitol and let members of Congress move around Capitol Hill without going outside.
"You have no idea how much I hate the cold," the 48-year-old Fountain Hills resident said this week, when daytime temperatures in Washington were in the 50s. "There's a reason I live in Arizona."
Schweikert, Arizona Reps.-elect Paul Gosar and Ben Quayle, and more than 90 other newly elected lawmakers were in Washington this week for a six-day freshman orientation. The session was aimed at helping the new lawmakers hire staffs, set up offices here and in their districts, and scramble for key committee assignments. And yes, learn their way around the massive Capitol.
The new lawmakers will be sworn into office Jan. 5, when the 112th Congress convenes. Arizona's new members will join five incumbents: Republican Reps. Jeff Flake and Trent Franks and Democratic Reps. Gabrielle Giffords, Raúl Grijalva and Ed Pastor.
"I'm definitely a bit awestruck," said Gosar, a 51-year-old dentist from Flagstaff who will represent the 1st Congressional District. "You walk over the Capitol steps and you think about how many people have walked these same steps throughout history. It's humbling, the trust people have put in you. But it's exciting, too."
Quayle's family has been part of that history. His father, former Vice President Dan Quayle, served in both the House and the Senate. A white marble bust of Dan Quayle stands in the Capitol.
"When my dad was in the House, I was zero to 4 years old," said Quayle, a 34-year-old attorney who lives in Phoenix. "I know the Senate side pretty well, but not the House. I will definitely be getting lost along with the other freshmen."
Quayle, who will represent the 3rd Congressional District, said it began to really sink in that he was about to become a member of Congress when he voted this week in a House Republican Conference meeting to elect House Speaker-designate John Boehner and other GOP leaders.
"That was a special moment," he said.
Quayle said he is still trying to figure out which committee spots he will seek.
Schweikert, a former state legislator who also served as Maricopa County treasurer, is already lobbying to be on the House Financial Services Committee. He believes he could use the position to help push banks to start lending to small Arizona businesses and families again.
"That's a big ask for a freshman," Schweikert acknowledged. "But I think it's probably where I could have the biggest impact for the 5th Congressional District."
Gosar said he will try for a spot on the Energy and Commerce Committee, where competition for a seat is also fierce, and on the Natural Resources Committee. The energy panel has jurisdiction over a wide range of issues, including health care and solar power. The resources committee makes decisions that affect how federal land is used.
"I want to make the government bureaucracy more responsive to people and to the states," Gosar said.
All three men said it is important to them to stick to the ideals that helped them win their seats: smaller government, reduced spending and fewer taxes.
The huge GOP freshman class - one of the biggest in history - is expected to carry greater than normal weight with Republican leaders because of its size. Republican leaders already have tripled the number of freshmen serving on the powerful Republican Steering Committee, which picks committee chairmen and members of the top committees.
"Our (Republican) freshman class is resolved to get back to a government by and for the people," Gosar said of the 80-plus new GOP members. "Now we've got to put our resolve into action."
Schweikert said incumbents have offered helpful, if conflicting, advice.
"Someone will come up and say, 'Hi, I'm Congressman So-and-so from California, and you need to bring your family here to Washington,' " Schweikert said. "Then another guy comes up and says, 'Hi, I'm Congressman So-and-so from Oregon. Keep your family at home.' There's been an avalanche of advice on surviving Washington."
Quayle, Gosar and Schweikert said they plan to keep their homes and families in Arizona and sleep in their Capitol Hill offices while in Washington. Congress generally meets from Tuesday through Thursday.
Tiffany Quayle joked that she hopes her husband's uncomfortable living conditions in Washington will inspire him to return to Phoenix as much as possible.
"I think he'll be really excited to come home," she said.
That was never in doubt, Quayle said.
"Phoenix is just more real than Washington," he said.
Plus, his wife said, "He'll miss the dog," a pound puppy named Louie.
Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2010/11/20/20101120arizona-lawmakers-on-capitol-hill.html?source=nletter-news#ixzz168VnFGzd
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