Staff Assistant, Travel Coordinator, Committee On Appropriations
Washington, District Of Columbia, Us
The most rewarding part of my job was teaching people. I enjoyed explaining the legislative process to members of the public, the byzantine travel process to committee staff, and the best practices I had collected over the years to new Senate and committee staff.For the full committee I processed staff travel requests, including member to member correspondence and external correspondence to executive branch agencies. For international travel, I worked with the State Department to ensure the appropriate funds were authorized in embassies around the world and that those funds were accounted for upon our travelers' return to the United States. Quarterly, I prepared an international travel expense report for inclusion in the Congressional Record, in compliance with the Congressionally mandated reporting requirement. For 3 subcommittees, I coordinated hearing logistics, member directed spending requests, and hearing records. Hearing logistics included official notices, witness invitations, collection and distribution of witness testimony, day-of location management, and interface with the court reporter. I edited transcripts of hearings for the permanent record, incorporated Outside Witness Testimony, and distributed and tracked Questions for the Record submitted by Senators to federal witnesses after hearings concluded.