An awkward moment that I'll never forget:
During my first year in Congress, I went looking for Rep. Duncan Hunter, Republican Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee, in order to work together on an issue. Yet, when I entered the Republican Cloakroom, everyone looked up. As a freshman Representative, I didn't know that members of one party didn't just walk into the other party's Cloakroom. I thought that we were in the House of Representatives - representing America, not just a party. This is the Hatfields and McCoys atmosphere that plagues our Congress and has caused the recent gridlock in negotiations, such as the Payroll Tax Cut, leaving Americans left behind.
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