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Future Michigan members of Congress receive orientation training

Online Niel November 16, 2024

Washington ― Michigan’s two new members of the U.S. House arrived on Capitol Hill this week as they prepare to join the new Congress — Republican Tom Barrett and Democrat Kristen McDonald Rivet — fresh off their victories in last week’s election.

Although they won’t be sworn in until January, about 60 elected members are briefed over 10 days on how to set up their offices, recruit staff, budget for the coming year and, of course, learn to find their way. the labyrinthine complex of the Capitol.

They also receive ethics and security briefings, have official photos taken and meet dozens of new colleagues from across the country.

“It’s chaotic, but it’s exciting. I try to keep it in perspective,” said Barrett, who last week won his second bid for a seat in Congress. “It’s a tremendous opportunity.”

Their agenda includes dinners with House leadership, caucus meetings, training on disclosure rules, gifts, travel reimbursements and guidance on handling constituents’ issues with federal agencies.

The incoming class also took a field trip to the National Archives, the Library of Congress and can vote in their party’s leadership election for the next term. On Friday, they posed for an official incoming class photo on the steps of the House of Representatives.

“I woke up this morning and it feels like your first day of college,” said McDonald Rivet, a mother of six. “And I remember what I told my kids when they went to college was, ‘Stay curious and find something you like about every person you meet.’ So I take my own advice.”

While in town, the rookies also have an opportunity to lobby House leaders for their favorite committee assignments.

Barrett, an Army veteran, said he is most interested in the House Armed Services Committee and the Veterans Affairs panel. But he chaired the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee while in the Michigan Senate, so that panel’s House version might also be appropriate. “I’m open to other things,” Barrett said.

As for topical caucuses, he joked that the Michigan delegation might start a helicopter caucus in Congress because he and Republican U.S. Reps. John James of Shelby Township and Jack Bergman of Watersmeet have flown helicopters in the military .

“John James pointed out that Michigan has more members who know how to float than any other delegation in the country,” Barrett said.

McDonald Rivet has not yet narrowed down its specific questions, she said. Her state Senate committee assignments include appropriations, education, energy and environment, health and economic development.

“I’m looking at places where I can make big policy moves and provide some influence on decision-making related to raising the median income and making sure more people in the district can reach and stay in the middle class,” said she for The Detroit News.

The New Democratic Coalition is growing

She has already joined the Coalition of New Democrats, a centrist group expected to have more than 107 members in the next Congress, including at least 23 newly elected members like McDonald Rivet.

“It’s a group of people who are active in the center, have bipartisan solutions, and are infinitely practical in their solutions, so very early on we found a home there,” she said.

The New Dems did their own orientation for new members earlier in the week, which covered basics like understanding franking privilege, how to choose staff and what a member’s budget looks like (it’s about $1.5 million per year).

“The kind of boring, behind-the-curtain details that are really important, which is why I brought two staff members with me,” McDonald Rivet said. “He’s very crazy and screwy.”

McDonald Rivet, 54, of Bay City, will succeed Democratic U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee of Flint Township to represent the 8th District covering the Tri Cities of Flint, Saginaw and Midland. First-term state senator and former Bay City commissioner defeated Republican Paul Junge of Grand Blanc Township by nearly 7 percentage points in last week’s election, according to unofficial results.

Barrett, 43, of Charlotte will take the adjacent 7th District seat in Lansing. The former state senator last week defeated Democrat Curtis Hertel of East Lansing by nearly 4 percentage points. The seat was open because Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, ran for Senate.

Slotkin has her own Senate orientation this week, though it was held mostly behind closed doors. Unlike members of the House, elected senators were given temporary office space on Capitol Hill during their transition.

Next week, House officers will hold a lottery for each House member coming to choose their new office in Washington.

Following in the footsteps of a relative

Barrett hopes he’ll be lucky enough to get the same office as his great-grandfather, Louis Charles Rabautoccupied generations ago in the Longworth House office building, he said. The office is currently held by Iowa Republican U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn, but he is moving, Barrett said.

Rabaut, a Democrat, represented the Grosse Pointes and part of Detroit in Congress from 1935 to 1961 and is known for his bill adding “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance.

Barrett was elected to the same body 90 years after his great-grandfather. Barrett never met him because Rabaut had a heart attack during an event and died in the arms of Democratic U.S. Rep. John Dingell in 1961, Barrett said.

“I walked onto the floor of the House of Representatives yesterday and I was thinking, seven decades ago, of my great-grandfather doing this and what that would have been like. It was really an exciting feeling,” he said.

“It’s something that I really keep in perspective, in terms of the trust that people put in me to come here and do this job. I can never lose sight of that or lose track of it. “

When he spoke to The News, McDonald Rivet had yet to go to the House floor to review the process of casting card votes on the electronic system. As a candidate, she previously had the opportunity to go to the House floor during a tour this year, but declined, worried she would lose her chances on Election Day.

“So they all went in, and I watched from the outside,” McDonald Rivet said. “I don’t go on the floor of the House until I become a member, because I felt it was bad luck.”

Deputies coming this week are also considering where and how to set up their district offices — Barrett is planning one for Lansing — as they learn restrictions on how they spend their annual budgets.

For example, a member’s allowance covers their travel between the district and Washington, not elsewhere. And if a member spends over their budget, it is taken out of their paycheck by the Treasury Department.

Developing relationships

New to orientation this year is an app that has been loaded onto the House-issued phones that each elected member receives. The House Administrative Committee said the app includes maps of House office buildings and the Capitol Visitor Center, details on shuttle times, event details and technical support hours.

In early December, elected members have the opportunity to attend a bipartisan legislative training session at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.

McDonald Rivet has already thought about policy and law and has begun building relationships with colleagues, including Republicans, who will retain majority control of the House next term.

“I am a person with policies. I believe in the power of public policy and making big differences in people’s lives. I’ve seen that and what I’m excited to do is learn about how the system really works in Congress, it makes big things happen,” she said.

“So that means being able to start developing relationships – that’s when great things happen, when you have relationships with other people. And what I think is great about the orientation is that we’re doing it together with the Republicans.”

Despite being in the minority, McDonald Rivet expects there are political spaces where she can find “synergy” with fellow GOP members to try to advance legislation such as expanding the child tax credit.

“You know, I happen to like the idea of not taxing tips. There are things we can do,” she said, referring to one of Republican President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign pledges.

“But also, this is a very large room. My approach right now is to prioritize the very specific needs of the people in my district and then find other people who are concerned about the same thing and form relationships and try to move something forward. .”

She is a little wary of rumors from Trump and some GOP lawmakers that they want to roll back some of Democratic President Joe Biden’s signature legislation, such as CHIPS and the Science Act of 2022, which funds more than $52 billion in grants and $24 billion in business tax credits. makes chips in the USA

Her district recently received two major CHIP Act awards last month, incl up to $325 million was awarded to Hemlock Semiconductor to expand its semiconductor-grade polysilicon production.

McDonald Rivet said repealing the package would be “catastrophic” for the district, but that it’s too soon to know what might happen.

“I would tell you that the CHIPS Act was incredibly important to my region, and with every breath I take, I will fight for it,” she said. “It’s just incredibly important.”

A specific dilemma

Barrett’s top priorities include securing the southern border, renewing Trump’s 2017 tax reform law and enacting regulatory reforms, including electric vehicle regulations.

He has not yet decided whether he will participate in the House’s community projects funding program, which essentially allows lawmakers to request earmarked money for specific community projects in their district.

Barrett said the allowances have been “misused,” but he also wants to advocate for his district. It could come down to the House’s final rules on the program, he said.

“I don’t want to see opportunities going out the door in other districts that aren’t being offered to the same taxpayers in my own district,” he said.

Both Barrett and McDonald Rivet are looking forward to bringing their families back to Washington in January for the Jan. 3 swearing-in ceremony.

McDonald Rivet joked that there might not be enough room to fit everyone in her large family into her swearing-in photo next month with the speaker of the House.

“Just our family, plus one layer is an enormous amount of people. So the day of the oath will feel like the Rivets are about to take over DC,” she said.

Barrett promised his four children, ages 3 to 11, that if he was elected to Congress, they would be able to take their first plane ride with him to Washington.

“On election night, they were more excited to fly on a plane than I was to win the election,” he said. – They laugh at the drop.

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