It is an article of faith that there’s not one single person in Washington who could give a rat’s patootie about what’s been happening to the unemployed these days (or, for that matter, a whole lot of other folks who are facing hard times), and there’s a considerable amount of truth in that statement.
But it’s not entirely true.
One of my favorite Members of Congress, George Miller (CA-07), is the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce; from now until October 3rd he and the other Democrats on that Committee have put some of their hard-earned patooties on the table so that those of you who are feeling these tough times have a chance to get your voice before a House of Representatives that, for the most part, would rather you just shut the hell up and go away.
"I am a 3rd Generation Sheet Metal Worker in the Philadelphia, New Jersey, Delaware area and this my story. I started my apprenticeship in 1988 and attended school for 4 years where I learned the trade of Sheet Metal Worker. I had worked pretty steady during my 20 plus years up until July 5, 2010 that was my last day of employment. I am a very skilled and educated worker with many years left to help build this great nation...I am on my 2nd tier of unemployment and at 44 years old with 2 sons in school and near college age what do I say to them. What American Dream!!"
--William, Sicklerville, NJ (quoted from the Democratic eForum website)
So normally when you have a major piece of legislation coming up, you hold hearings and get some input, good, bad, or otherwise, from the public and a series of assembled experts. If that were to happen with the jobs bill that’s been proposed, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce would be just the place for a hearing of that sort to take place.
However, it appears that’s not going to happen with this bill, as the Republican Leadership has refused the minority’s request for a hearing (remember, in the House, majority really rules).
It’s really no surprise, if you think about it, as I’m sure House Republicans don’t want a parade of people who desperately need jobs coming around and “pooping in the pool” by bringing their problems to what is, for all intents and purposes, Gucci Gulch with a Dome; however, the Democrats on the Committee are not to be denied.
They have instead set up a “virtual” hearing (the “eForum on Jobs”) – and instead of a few people forming a panel and testifying as representatives of all of us, all of us are invited to testify.
What they’re looking for is the story of how these hard times have affected you: are you a State worker who got laid off, or did a business close in your town and open in another country, or are you working for less money this year than last, even as your house payment isn’t going down?
Is your unemployment about to run out, with no new opportunities in sight?
Those are the stories Miller and the other Committee Democrats want to hear, even as the Committee’s Republicans seem to prefer to keep that sort of story quiet.
Here’s what you do:
You can go to the eForum website and use the handy form they have right there, or you can use the jobseforum@mail.house.gov address to send a message directly. It’s possible to mail a letter to the Committee, but honestly, with the challenges of getting a physical letter through the Capitol’s security apparatus, you would be hard-pressed to get it there by the deadline of October 3rd.
Excerpts from some of the stories are already up on the site, and I would expect to see more as well; the eventual work product will become a submission to Congress.
Now look, folks, I will be the first to trash-talk a Member of Congress when they deserve it – and far too often they do – but here is a good example of people in Congress actually giving a rat’s patootie about something we all care about, and when that happens we should be just as quick to get behind our allies who are doing the right thing.
So if you have a story to tell, swing by the site and let ‘em hear it (and these days, who doesn’t?); even if you don’t, take a minute today to help spread the word that, contrary to legend, there really are public servants, right there in the Congress, who exist to serve the public.
I’d appreciate it, and I have a feeling William, up there in Sicklerville, will appreciate it, too.