A Temporary Congresswoman
Jaileen Almonte
Put yourself in someone else’s shoes and then you will understand what they going through. That is what I have learned in my Advanced Placement U.S Government and Politics class these past few weeks. During that time, we were assigned roles representing a senator or representative, a state or district, a committee, and a political party. This was a new experience for the class; however, it was an enjoyable experience because the entire class took their roles seriously and used them effectively. Each student had their research laid out in front of them. They needed to research on their individual state or district, political party, and issues pertaining to their constituents. Then the senators would meet with senators and representatives would meet with representatives to create a bill for the other house of Congress to look over and eventually be deny, revise, or pass. This was no easy task.
Although, with the group that I had we ended up having a successful bill and having a lot of fun doing it. For instance, I was a senator from Montana and I was from the Republican Party participating on the Environment and Public Works Committee. Our Senate consisted of a variety of people from different states and committees. Two of my colleagues had the same political party as well as the same committee but represented different states. My other colleagues had different committees, states, and parties. We had two senators from the Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee and one senator from the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee.
Our problem consisted of our waters being contaminated from the toxic waste from corporations. To fix this problem we came up with a bill that would not only stop polluting our waters, but create jobs, and make our environment more green. All companies dumping toxic waste would cease production for four years until a solution was made to get rid of the waste more productively. The government would give tax breaks during these four years in order for the company to figure out what their action plan was to be and have the money for it. The government would not supply any money for it is the company’s duty to take control of their actions. If the companies fail to meet the expectations in the next four years, the government will take action and fine them for all the tax breaks given as well as shut down the companies as a whole.
In the end, my classmates and I enjoyed being temporary congressmen and women. It opened up our eyes to what it really meant to be in a position of power as well as to negotiate with each other on rules and regulations that needed to be addressed in order to better our country for future generations to come.