...or Why my Senator Represents!
It all started with a conversation last summer about a previous trip on Amtrak and how much fun we had with our then-4-year-old son, M. We decided it was time for another train trip, now that M is 8 and youngest son, T, is 3. In honor of M’s avowed lifetime ambition of seeing “every museum in the world,” we thought what better place than Washington DC, the repository for many of our nation’s most priceless treasures? So we embarked on a spring break vacation by train to DC.
Travelling by Amtrak is always an adventure - but that is another story...
Arriving in DC, we had various ambitions, including the Air and Space Museum for M and my former-aeronautical-engineer-turned-MD husband. For me, a major highlight was the chance to attend breakfast at the offices of our junior Senator from Minnesota, Al Franken. His website states that families are welcome, and we took them at their word.
We arrived at the Senator’s offices a little late – a combination of the complexities of herding kids and husbands, aided by the vagaries of the DC metro system which seems to have random delays specifically in the section between our hotel and downtown. The senator’s offices were packed. We were last in line for the breakfast buffet, including the fantastic Mahnomin porridge (recipe from Minneapolis favorite, Hell’s Kitchen - where pajamas for breakfast are welcome). As we were waiting for food, T took the opportunity to entertain himself with the favored “headbutting mommy for sport” game. Perhaps out of pity, Senator Franken’s lovely and gracious wife, Franni, came up and chatted with us. The kids simmered down to somewhat civilized. I noted that T was the sole representative of the preschooler constituency today. Senator Franken (in my head, I do think of him as “Al”, but that seems overly familiar, as we just met) shook hands with all of us. The kids got the “secret handshake” and no, I will not tell you what it is. We then all moved through to the office area where the senator took questions and gave some highlights of his opposition to H.R. 1, which was scheduled for vote in the senate today. He mentioned that he would likely be speaking on the senate floor. I wanted to ask about net neutrality, but felt that in light of the focus on budget, this would be diversionary this morning. Also, I chickened out.
After the talk, we all got our photos with the Senator. We will see if the children managed to smile on cue when it arrives in the mail.
We gathered ourselves together to return to our museum mission, with plans to return later for the Capitol tour.
When it was time to return, T was deemed too unpredictable, and, yes, we will admit, potentially loud, to be well suited for the Capitol. Also, it was his naptime, and melt-downs are the toddler prerogative, so he and his dad stayed at the museum to watch some 3D airplane movies in the museum theater. Meanwhile, M and I hiked back up to the Capitol. On the way, M posed questions such as “what is the Senate?” “what do they do?” and wanted an in-depth description of the various parties and how they are different. In the spirit of intellectual honesty, I told him about bias and that my own colored my opinions. As 8 year-olds will do, he listened to that and still staunchly supported my point of view as the obviously correct one. Oh, if only that would last!
We got back to the Senate offices and were brought by Senator Franken’s staff on a tour of the Capitol. First, I was impressed by how thoughtful, and, yes, Minnesota Nice, his staff was. Our young tour guide intern (and sadly I have gotten old enough where the interns do look young to me), was well-informed and working hard to do a great job for us.
At this point, I have to say, the Capitol is completely amazing - the architecture, the history. It was a potent reminder of all that we take for granted, that led us to the stable republic we are today. Following days of viewing the Jefferson, Lincoln and FDR memorials, seeing the Capitol building solidified this feeling of awe and gratitude for the foresight and brilliance that have brought us through one crisis after another to be here today. I can’t help but feel optimism and hope that we will somehow manage to pull through our current crises yet again. After all, these people, while brilliant, were still merely human. Somehow this country seems to bring out the best in people.
So M and I enjoyed the building and the statuary and the history lesson. At the end of the tour, we received tickets to the House and Senate galleries. Since we knew H.R. 1 was being voted on at that time, we decided to go to the Senate first to see if we could spot any senators. The line was endlessly long – between handing over all electronics and later going through metal detectors. I had to laugh to myself watching one guard puzzle over some toys for T that I had in my purse – ninja-style matryoshka dollspurchased in the Spy museum earlier this week. Finally we got to the senate gallery and sat down.
At first, there seemed to be nothing much going on. A clerk was reading a list of senators and their votes on the Senate budget bill. Then, I noticed some of the people milling about or in conversation on the floor were Senators Chuck Schumer and Barbara Boxer. A little while later, Senator McCain entered the room. Then came Senator Klubuchar, our own senior Senator from Minnesota. And finally, none other than Senator Franken. By sheer luck, we happened to be there as the final roll was finished for the vote and Senator Franken requested floor time.
Listening to him speak was such a great experience. He quoted the famous bank robber Willie Sutton, who said he robbed banks because “that’s where the money is.” This illustrated the pointlessness of cutting the budget by going after the 12% of discretionary spending rather than "the bank" where the money is. The HR 1 bill, as you know, goes after children who benefit from Head Start (a program near and dear to my heart, as a pediatrician and mom) and homeless vets. Instead, he advocated going after “the bank” - the subsidies we give away to the oil companies (why is this still going on??), money spent on military items that we do not need, and the tax breaks we give to millionaires. He mentioned the utter stupidity (my words) of Medicare part D – a plan which provides a huge new market for pharmaceuticals, but does NOT allow for getting bulk pricing on drugs. (It still floors me that there isn’t greater uproar about this). He touched on the importance of not cutting the very things that grow our economy – research and education. He talked about cutting waste to Medicare and the amendment he has proposed (and also supported by Senator Klubuchar) to reward value in healthcare. He pointed out that in MN, we cost Medicare 50% of what a patient in Texas costs – and with better outcomes measures. He used this as an example of what we should be doing to cut costs.
This last point gave me pause. I have heard this and have known this. I have also read Atul Gawande’s thought-provoking series in the New Yorker. But at this moment, having my senator saying this on the senate floor, it struck me for the first time that he is talking about MY work and MY colleagues – the people that I see working in academia and in underserved populations, working to do what is right for their patients. Not working to maximize their profits, but to do what is right. We take for granted in Minnesota what a great system we have. Despite 8 years of Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty trying to cannibalize our health dollars to fund his “No Taxes” mantra on the backs of immigrant children and the working poor, we still do better than most. Not perfect, not as good as we would like or as good as we should be able to do, but better than most. It was a wonderful thing to hear our Senator, praising the fruits of our hard work and dedication – not to mention proposing common-sense solutions to find waste in the federal budget. It made me feel - for the time I was sitting there with my son, listening to this speech in our nation’s capitol – that I was truly represented. That someone representing me really understood what was important to me, what I care about, what I would like to see change. It was an awesome moment, and one I am going to hold onto and pull out when I am mired in cynicism about this whole sausage-making enterprise that is politics in America.
Even if you hadn’t impressed me yourself, Senator, I would have been inclined in your favor based on the people you choose to be around you. But your words really made me proud. Thank you, Senator Franken. Thank you to your wonderful staff. And thank you to your kind wife, Franni for being so nice to my kids.