Times Union - Tonko Gets Crash Course

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Times Union - Tonko Gets Crash Course

Seven weeks ahead of his swearing-in ceremony, Representative-elect Paul Tonko joined more than 50 other new lawmakers on Capitol Hill this week for a crash course on Congress.

The Amsterdam Democrat and his fellow rookies are getting their first official taste of their new jobs in the House of Representatives during a weeklong "freshman orientation" that began Monday morning with a class picture on the Capitol steps. It ends Friday when they learn their office assignments.

Though voters may have elected the new lawmakers to tackle weighty issues such as immigration, health care and energy policy, much of this week is devoted to the mundane details of running a congressional office. During lectures and meetings, the new members are schooled in abiding by ethics rules, given tips on whether to lease or buy office equipment, advised on how to assemble an office staff and told the best strategies for dealing with an avalanche of e-mails from constituents.

Even Tonko, who spent 24 years in the State Assembly, finds Congress 101 helpful.

"It's familiarizing you with the process, the space, the people and the guidelines," said Tonko, who was elected in New York's 21st congressional district to succeed retiring Rep. Mike McNulty, D-Green Island. Staff and leaders are "steering you through the process" and helping "figure out the framework of your Washington and 21st district operations," Tonko said. "Their efforts here are to make sure that what you set up is most efficient."

Unlike the New York Assembly, members of the House of Representatives are in charge of every detail of their office operations — from how many offices to set up in their districts to what aides will staff their space in Washington. They work within a congressional budget that is largely tied to their district's proximity to Washington.

Receptions and dinners — including an event at the Library of Congress on Sunday night and a dinner in the Capitol building's Statuary Hall on Monday — give the new members a chance to mingle. Tonko said he has enjoyed meeting the other members of his freshmen class, which includes teachers, state legislators and entrepreneurs. Tonko is an engineer.

"It just reminds you how diverse as a nation we are," said Tonko, 59. "It's starting the whole spark of camaraderie and collegiality, which I think is important when you're mixing in a legislative think tank."

Tonko said he knows one of his main roles in the 111th Congress that begins Jan. 6 is "to be a sales rep for (the) district."

"All of that is a chemistry that is very important, and it begins in very sound and basic ways this week."

The district includes all of Albany, Schenectady, Montgomery and Schoharie counties and parts of Fulton, Rensselaer and Saratoga counties.

Tuesday, he joined other House Democrats in a closed-door meeting to elect party leaders, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md.

Tonko also is mulling what committees he would like to serve on — a decision largely made by House leaders.

A natural choice could be the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Tonko was chairman of the State Assembly's Energy Committee from 1992 until 2007, and after leaving the legislature, he spent a year as chairman of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.

That panel is one of the House of Representatives' "exclusive" committees — lawmakers who sit on that committee cannot be part of any other. It is a coveted committee, with a waiting list.

"What we want to champion is how best to fit my skill set to the needs of the district," Tonko said. "We will maximize that opportunity. We will make sure that skill set, expertise, background and the needs of this district will be brought into some kind of working order for assignments."

Another big decision facing Tonko is how to handle the commute, and where to live while in the nation's capital. Most Congressional veterans are steering the freshmen to residences within the city limits.

Tonko has called it "chilling" to walk around the Capitol building, underneath the towering rotunda and through the same halls used by historic figures.

"All of a sudden, it starts to be a rush," Tonko said. "You ran for office, you had your campaign at home, and the issues were all about today. And then all of a sudden, you're brought into this walk-through of history, and it just does send chills up your spine."

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