My first week in D.C. for my summer program has come and gone, and I’ve done a lot of walking, exploring and learning. My class is in full swing; I’ve met some of the nearly ten thousand interns that flock to D.C. in the summer, and I’ve mastered the Metro. There’s still more to explore and to be done, but one thing on my list that I had the pleasure to do was to sit in on a Senate Judiciary hearing.
And if you didn’t already know, they are open to the public.
On Thursday, June 9, I arrived on Capitol Hill, dressed in a suit with a backpack, armed also with notepaper and a pen. I intended to see the senate in action in one way, shape or form. While it wouldn’t be the same as watching a senate floor vote, the proposals and business in the judiciary hearing committee would be critical as it would lead to later votes on the floor.
I was one of the first ones in line for the hearing since seating was limited and it was based on a “first come, first serve” rule for sitting in on the hearings. I was surprised to see that nearly half of the people in the audience were my age - all interns more than likely interning with the varying senators, whereas I was there just to observe, not necessarily there for a purpose.
I sat down in the leather seats, and one by one, I saw members of the Senate come in with their chiefs of staff and high-ranking members showering them with memos, documents and talking points. I was somewhat star struck to see some of these names and faces that I would see on the news or CSPAN right before me in this small, oak-walled room in the Dirksen Senate Office building.
The hearing, set to start at 10, began a few minutes late. The hearing began with less than seven members of the committee. The chairmen, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) convened the hearing. To his left was Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) who was a very vocal member during the hearing, mostly debating with Senator Lee on an amendment for the ECPA (Electronic Communication Privacy Act of 1987). Senator Leahy reminded the committee during the hearing that it had taken nearly 13 years and public scrutiny in order to work on the amendments to update this aging piece of legislation. Yet, he also cited the act as bill that was passed by a coalition and in a “bicameral way.” He even cited that the act was signed into law “long before email was even a thought in anyone’s mind.” Yet he was very vocal for accusing his fellow colleagues outside the committee for introducing “Poison pill amendments” that would more than likely jeopardize the passage of the amendments and the bill itself.
Surprisingly, the committee cited two movies to further their debate and their arguments ("J. Edgar" and "The Big Short").
The discussion of the hearing was dominated between Senator Michael Lee (R-UT) and Senator Leahy. The issue came up about national security letters as well as the security of American citizens’ privacy from scammers from overseas countries. The debate on this subject was very interesting because the issue arose over the amendment for a civil enforcement agency to obtain a federal judge’s order to go after these illegal agencies. Senator Le voiced his opposition to the amendment, saying that it would mean that civil enforcement would lead to the U.S. Justice Department dealing with foreign governments who protect these “hacker cells.”
As the proceedings went on, more and more senators trickled in, mostly whenever they had something to say on the day’s agenda or about the bill. Some famous names, such as Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA) and Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY, who also arrived at 10:30) were some of the members present at the hearing. Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) introduced an open letter from major communication company’s (Facebook, Yahoo and Microsoft) all supporting the amendments on the agenda.
Not surprisingly, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) was not present at the hearing, nor were several other senators.
In summary, the committee work behind legislation is a long process and a difficult one. It is evident the amount of discussion, debate and detail that goes into the amending and proposing of legislation. It was also interesting to see this committee working on the issue of digital privacy and security for Americans, which is they type of action that many American people desire. Legislating is both an art and a science. Viewing and reporting on this hearing made it very evident of the process that all legislation follows. I recommend anyone who is in their respective State Capital or in the Nation's capital to sit in on a public hearing to better now the issues.
