Getting “the Hill” Experience and a Little Bit More

Programs

Congressional Fellowship Program

Getting “the Hill” Experience and a Little Bit More APSA's Congressional Fellowship Program

by Michelle L. Stefanick, CFP Fellow 2005-06, U.S. State Department

Every year a dozen or so State Department Foreign Service Officers (FSOs) apply to spend a year gaining legislative experience through a working experience as congressional staff. The two primary avenues are through a Pearson Amendment detail assignment or a training assignment through the American Political Science Association's Congressional Fellowship Program. The following is a collaborative essay by former foreign affairs Fellow (84-85), former FSO and the current Congressional Fellowship director Jeffrey R. Biggs and current Fellow and State FSO Michelle L. Stefanick. As a Fellow, retired FSO Biggs served with House Majority Whip Thomas S. Foley (D-WA) and Senate Republican Whip Senator Alan Simpson. FSO Stefanick's 2005-06 assignment is with Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME).

Founded in 1953, with more than 2000 alumni since then, the American Political Science Association's (APSA) Congressional Fellowship Program remains as it began - a highly selective, nonpartisan, legislative working experience. The fellowship is devoted to expanding knowledge and awareness of Congress by selecting participants whose on-going careers can capitalize on translating a pivotal personal experience to a broader public. Over the years the APSA Congressional Fellowship has brought talented political scientists, journalists, domestic and foreign policy government specialists, Robert Wood Johnson health policy fellows, and international scholars sponsored by the German Marshall Fund of the

United States

, Asia Society and Fulbright program, to Capitol Hill to experience the U.S. Congress at work.

The heart of the fellowship remains the 9-10 month "hands on" experience as a Legislative Assistant on a personal or committee congressional staff. Drawing upon the decades-long evaluations of their predecessors, long-standing congressional relationships fortified by the fellowship's Advisory Committee, including key legislators, each Fellow is allowed to find her or his best congressional office match.

Career civil servants from the Executive Branch have been part of the annual class of Fellows since the early 60s. A 1964 Department of State News Letter pictured 16 Federal Congressional Fellows at the White House. It was noteworthy in a number of respects. They were all white men, all wore dark suits and white shirts, and 11 wore black horn-rimmed glasses. The group of Fellows was there at the invitation of President Lyndon B. Johnson who was pictured addressing them. The president told the Fellows that "the year's experience you just received in the Congressional Fellowship Program represents an invaluable addition to your careers. No high government official can be completely effective if he does not understand the role of Congress in our democracy." At the same meeting, the president, after looking over the group, reportedly asked "where are the women?" The class following the meeting with President Johnson included three women including current president of Public Citizen Joan Claybrook.

Following the State Department's adoption of the Pearson [Senator James Pearson of Kansas] fellowships, there were two routes to Hill experience for FSOs. In that context, it is the APSA Congressional Fellowship's enrichment features which truly set it apart. The first is the two-month Foreign Affairs Seminar run in collaboration with Johns Hopkins Nitze School of Advanced International Studies. It was introduced in 1972 and has continued since. As recounted by the late Professor Fred Holborn who coordinated the seminar for three decades, the idea was born over a lunch between SAIS Dean Francis Wilcox and progressive Republican Representative Brad Morse of Massachusetts. Both men had an abiding interest in foreign affairs and the Congressional Fellowship Program. Wilcox had been a former chief of staff for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and went on to become Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizations. Both men felt FSOs needed both a better "political touch" and firmer grounding in the legislative role in foreign policy formulation. With classes and frequent brown bag lunches with practitioners during September and October, the seminar is run by Professor Charles Stevenson who brings the experience of several decades as a Senate staffer on national security and foreign policy, and nearly a decade on the faculty of the National War College. Class participants include Foreign Affair Fellows from State and the intelligence community, senior Fulbright Fellows (this year from Chile, China, Jordan and Morocco) and advanced SAIS graduate students.

FSO Stefanick observation: In August 2005, I was in my second year as Management Officer at Embassy Khartoum, Sudan when I decided to include the Pearson Fellowship as one of my bids. Throughout my entire August 2003-2005 assignment to Khartoum, post had a continual flow of CODELs and VIPs focused on the resolution of the North-South conflict and the Darfur humanitarian crisis. It was during that time that I developed a particular interest in the legislative process and role. Having an assignment on the Hill piqued my interest. So when I found out that I had been selected for a Pearson, I was elated. But it was only at that time when I was given an option between a Pearson and an APSA Congressional Fellowship, that I had become aware of this program. And I've been thrilled with this program since day one.

In November, the Foreign Affair Fellows join the other 30-35 APSA Fellows in an intensive three-week orientation on Congress, the political atmosphere for that session, and the mechanics of the legislative process. Panels of Senate and House staffers talk about their work, speakers such as Tom Mann of Brookings and Norm Ornstein of AEI depict the political landscape, or journalists such as NPR's Ron Elving and National Journal's Rich Cohen lead in-depth discussions of areas such as the budget and appropriations process, and there are visits to key legislative support organizations such as C-SPAN. Concluding the orientation is a program on utilizing the resources of the Library of Congress' Congressional Research Service and a two-day CRS introduction to advanced Senate and House legislative procedure.

FSO Stefanick observation: The best advice I was given during the interview process was to not necessarily look at this as a job interview, but also as networking -- by this, meaning to interview with the House, Senate, majority, minority, committee as well as personal staff. And not to immediately take the first offer made, but to take the time to assess the office I would finally agree to work in and the overall experience I wanted. So I did just that. I interviewed with all these options and indeed developed a preference. However, it was very interesting that the first interview I had was with Sam Horton, Senator Snowe's National Security Legislative Assistant. From the very start, I felt it was a great fit. Sam, being a former congressional fellow himself with Senator Snowe before joining her personal staff a few years back, understood the process and also encouraged me as well to interview with as many offices as possible before making my final decision. So the more I interviewed, the more I compared them, the more I developed my preference. After a few weeks of interviewing and going through this important process, I was absolutely thrilled and honored when all was finalized and that soon I would be joining the personal staff of Senator Olympia J. Snowe as a Legislative Fellow.

For those that don't know Senator Snowe, here is some insight: Senator Snowe is a Republican from the predominately Democratic state of Maine. She is known for her attributes as a moderate, independent, consensus building, policy-maker. Senator Snowe is a true role model, particularly for women. When first elected to Congress in 1978 at the age of thirty-one, Olympia Snowe was the youngest Republican woman, and the first Greek-American woman, ever elected to Congress. In 1994, she was the first woman to have been elected to all four legislative chambers: her state house, state senate, the US House, and the US Senate. In February 2006, Parade Magazine, in coordination with The White House Project, identified Senator Snowe as one of eight women candidates nationwide, along with Secretary Rice, that could potentially run for president in 2008. In April 2006, Time magazine selected Senator Snowe as one of the nation's ten best Senators; the only woman on the list.

Fellows begin their assignment in December or January in this very challenging working environment with more than two dozen colleagues with whom they can share similar issue responsibilities as well as compare notes in the early weeks. This interchange process is enhanced by the Fellows getting together including for the bi-monthly Wilson Seminar Series. The seminar is intended to broaden by legislative experience beyond what a single assignment can provide with speakers including the House Parliamentarian, representatives of the Congressional Budget Office, Government Accountability Office, Office of Legislative Counsel, and the supervisors of the press galleries.

FSO Stefanick observation: As the key to the Hill is "your contacts", having the advantage of over thirty colleagues from day one can not be overrated. It played a huge role to my successful time working for Congress, as well as having all those contacts I made during the interviewing process. A highpoint for many of us APSA Fellows this year was attending the State of the Union address as a result of the great relations APSA has on the Hill.

Since 1973, during the spring of each year, the Fellows participate in the three-decades-old Canada-U.S. Parliamentary Exchange. The Fellows organize and host a week's orientation for the Canadian Parliamentary Interns in Washington, D.C. and the Canadians return the favor in Ottawa. As one former Fellow described the experience, "Fellows toured the halls of Ottawa's Parliament Hill and enjoyed a close look at the inner workings of Canadian government. The access to key Canadian decision-makers was considerable. Members of parliament, policy advisers, journalists, and ministerial staff gave of their time to open a wide window for Fellows to observe the intricacies of Canadian-style parliamentary democracy. From the public political brawl of Question Time to intimate talks with separatist 'Quebecers,' to a tour of the Supreme Court chambers, there was virtually no aspect of Canadian government shut off to Fellows. The culture -- its form of government, food, language -- of some 30 million North Americans is a mystery to too many U.S. citizens. But APSA Congressional Fellows enjoyed front-row exposure to this giant northern neighbor."

FSO Stefanick observation: When the Canadian Parliamentary Interns came to visit in March to learn about the US political system, a few of us Foreign Affairs APSA Fellows arranged the foreign affairs aspect of the program by including briefings in the State Department for them to obtain the US perspective on such issues as softwood lumber, overall trade and border security issues. An 8^th floor luncheon was arranged for the Canadian Interns to meet with Philip Drouin, the then Deputy Director of the Sudan Programs Group, for what they called "a truly eye-opening account" on the status of the Darfur crisis, its complexities and the role/actions of the US and international community at that time.

During our June trip to Ottawa, a Canadian Intern arranged for my attendance at an internal Parliamentary discussion led by Senator Lt. Gen. Romeo Dallaire, the UN Commander in charge during the Rwandan genocide. What an incredible experience it was for me to not only attend this session and to hear some of the internal debate of Canadian Parliamentarians on this horrendous situation and possible Canadian options to assist, but to also have a personal discussion with Sen. Dallaire. Since then, I have been in communication with Sen. Dallaire's staff exchanging information and insight on Darfur.

A different type of comparative exposure comes at the invitation of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County's Maryland Institute for Policy Analysis and Research. For some two decades, the Fellows have spent a day at the Annapolis State House observing the workings of the Maryland State Legislature.

The conclusion of the fellowship is marked by a reception in the historic Mansfield Room of the Capitol to which the Members and key staff, to which the Fellows have found assignments, are joined by alumni and the 180-plus individuals who have participated in the fellowship that year. One of the most enduring aspects of the fellowship is inevitably the close bonds formed among the eclectic mix of Fellows each year and the extensive networking of alumni and new contacts which fortify the Fellows' on-going careers.

FSO Stefanick observation: This has been truly an amazing year. I have no doubt the APSA Congressional Fellowship will be beneficial to me throughout my career. The relationship between the Congress and the Executive Branch (State Department) is such a crucial one. What an experience it has been working with Senator Snowe, her staff, and her Maine constituents, and learning the process from "inside"!Throughout the year, I've handled a wide variety of national security, foreign policy and social issues. I prepared Senator Snowe for her trip to Iraq; obtained the support of 65 Senators in joining Senator Snowe's request for an additional $150 million to support Breast Cancer Research; and recently won unanimous support for legislation co-sponsored by Senator Snowe and Senator Boxer that expands the eligibility of the Purple Heart to cover POW's who die in captivity.

My biggest accomplishment, however, has been being the Senator's point person on Darfur. Following the issue closely as well as meeting with deeply concerned Maine constituents, members of the NGO community, fellow Senatorial staffers, the Senator has released statements, signed letters and co-sponsored legislation all with the intent of assisting our government and the international community at large in addressing and ending the atrocities of Darfur, and bringing peace to all of Sudan.I strongly recommend the APSA Congressional Fellowship Program to anyone that has an interest in learning more about Congress. It was an invaluable experience for me and I, as well as other APSA Fellows, would be glad to discuss further with anyone that is interested.

[This article was also published in the State Department Newsletter. ]