Inside Congress:
Understanding Congressional Operations
July 9-13, 2012
Washington, DC
Preliminary Agenda (6/14)
Monday, July 9, 2012
8:00 – 8:30 a.m.
Registration and Continental Breakfast
Saul/ Zilkha Rooms
Brookings Institution,
1775 Massachusetts Ave., NW
8:30 – 9:15 a.m.
Saul/ Zilkha Rooms
Welcoming Remarks and Introductions


9:15 – 10:00 a.m.
Saul/ Zilkha Rooms
Peter Schoettle, Director of Policy Programs, Brookings
Executive Education, the Brookings Institution; and
Ian Dubin, Program Manager, Brookings Executive
Education, the Brookings Institution
Review: The Basics for Understanding Congress

Peter Schoettle, Director of Policy Programs, Brookings
Executive Education, the Brookings Institution
10:00 – 10:15 a.m.
Break
10:15 – 11:15 a.m.
Saul/ Zilkha Rooms
Leadership and Organization in the 112th Congress

11:15 – 11:30 a.m.
Stephen Billet, Director, Legislative Affairs, Graduate School of
Political Management, George Washington University
(confirmed)
Break
BROOKINGS | 1775 Massachusetts Ave NW Washington, DC 20036 | www.brookings.edu/execed
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Monday, July 9, 2012 (continued)
11:30 a.m. – 12:40 p.m.
Saul/ Zilkha Rooms
Understanding the 112th Congress

Ilona Nickels, Public Policy Consultant; former House and Senate
Staffer, and Congressional Research Service expert on
legislative procedures (confirmed)
12:40 – 1:30 p.m.
Somers Room
Lunch
1:40 – 3:30 p.m.
Saul/ Zilkha Rooms
The Congressional Authorization, Appropriation and
Budget Process
 Peter Schoettle, Director of Policy Programs, Brookings
Executive Education, the Brookings Institution
3:30 – 3:45 p.m.
Break
3:45 – 4:45 p.m.
Saul/ Zilkha Rooms
Polarization in Congress, and the Breakdown in Normal
Order
 Thomas E. Mann, Senior Fellow, Governance Studies Program,
Brookings Institution; co-author of The Broken Branch, How
Congress Is Failing America, and How to Get It Back, and It’s
Even Worse Than it Looks: How the American Constitutional
System Collided with the New Politics of Extremism
(confirmed)
BROOKINGS | 1775 Massachusetts Ave NW Washington, DC 20036 | www.brookings.edu/execed
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Tuesday, July 10, 2012
8:30 – 9:00 a.m.
Continental Breakfast
Room B354 Rayburn HOB
9:00 – 10:30 a.m.
The Congress and the Media: A Panel of Correspondents
Room B354 Rayburn HOB
 Benjamin Pershing, Congressional Correspondent, The
Washington Post; (confirmed) and
 David Welna, Congressional Correspondent, National Public
Radio (confirmed)
10:30 – 10:45 a.m.
Break
10:45 – 11:45 a.m.
Leadership in the United States Senate
Room B354 Rayburn HOB
 John Schall; former Assistant to Senator Bob Dole (R-KS), former
Majority Leader, U.S. Senate (confirmed)
12:00 – 12:30 p.m.
Luncheon
Room B354 Rayburn HOB
12:30 – 1:00 p.m.
A Member’s Perspective on Serving in Congress:
Room B354 Rayburn HOB Promoting Jobs in the Current Economy
 Congressman Jared Polis, (D-CO); Member of Judiciary; and
Rules Committees, House of Representatives (confirmed)
1:30 – 3:00 p.m.
Room 340 Cannon HOB
Congressional Staffers’ Roles and Responsibilities: Panel



3:00 – 3:15 p.m.
Diedra Henry-Spires, Professional Staff Member, Committee on
Finance, U.S. Senate; (invited)
Peter Villano, Professional Staff Member, Armed Services
Committee, House of Representatives; (invited) and
Kevin Fogarty, Chief of Staff, Office of Congressman Peter King,
(R-NY), House of Representatives (invited)
Break
BROOKINGS | 1775 Massachusetts Ave NW Washington, DC 20036 | www.brookings.edu/execed
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Tuesday, July 10, 2012 (cont.)
3:15 – 4:15 p.m.
Room 340 Cannon HOB
How Congress Really Works: The Perspective of a Former
Congressman
 Former Congressman Baron Hill, (D-IN), Member of Energy and
Commerce; Science and Technology; and Joint Economic
Committees, House of Representatives; (APCO Worldwide
current position?) (confirmed)
4:15 p.m.
Pick up House and Senate Gallery Passes from Members of
Congress
BROOKINGS | 1775 Massachusetts Ave NW Washington, DC 20036 | www.brookings.edu/execed
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Wednesday, July 11, 2012
8:15 – 8:45 a.m.
Continental Breakfast
Room B339 Rayburn HOB
8:45 – 9:15 a.m.
Briefing for Attending Committee Hearings and Mark-ups
Room B339 Rayburn HOB
▪ Ian Dubin, Program Manager, Brookings
Executive Education, the Brookings Institution
9:30 – 11:30 a.m.
Attend Selected House and Senate Committee Hearings and
Mark-up Sessions
11:30 – 12:00 noon
Room B339 RHOB
A Member’s Perspective on Serving in Congress: Collecting
Sales Tax from Internet Purchases
 Congressman Steve Womack, (R-AR); Member of three
Subcommittees: Energy and Water Development; Financial
Services and General Government ; and Transportation,
Housing, and Urban Development, Appropriations Committee,
House of Representatives (invited)
12:00 – 12:30 p.m.
Lunch
Room B339 Rayburn HOB
12:30 – 1:00 p.m.
Room B339 Rayburn
A Member’s Perspective on Serving in Congress: Partisanship
in Congress and the Stalemated Highway Bill
 Congressman Earl Blumenauer, (D-OR); Member, Budget; and
Ways and Means Committees, House of Representatives
(invited)
1:30 – 2:15 p.m.
Room B339 Rayburn
Briefing in Preparation for Observing Senate and House Floor
Action
 Peter Schoettle, Director of Policy Programs, Brookings
Executive Education, the Brookings Institution
2:30 – 5:00 p.m.
Observe Floor Action in the House and Senate
BROOKINGS | 1775 Massachusetts Ave NW Washington, DC 20036 | www.brookings.edu/execed
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Thursday, July 12, 2012
8:00 – 8:30 a.m.
Continental Breakfast and Group Discussion
Room B340 Rayburn HOB
 Peter Schoettle, Director of Policy Programs, Brookings
Executive Education, the Brookings Institution
 Ian Dubin, Program Manager, Brookings Executive
Education, the Brookings Institution
8:30 – 9:15 a.m.
Room B340 Rayburn
Leading the Republican Party in the House of Representatives:
How Speaker Boehner and Majority Leader Cantor Managed a
Revolution
 Kyle Nevins, Deputy Chief of Staff, Congressman Eric Cantor (RVA), Majority Leader, House of Representatives (invited)
9:30 a.m. – 12:00 noon
Attend Selected House and Senate Committee Hearings and
Mark-up Sessions, Or Observe House and Senate Floor Action
12:00 – 12:30 p.m.
Luncheon
Room B340 Rayburn HOB
.
12:30 – 1:00 p.m.
A Member’s Perspective on Serving in Congress:
Room B340 Rayburn HOB Congressional Influence on National Security – Preventing Iran
from Getting Nuclear Weapons through Diplomacy: HR 4173
 Congresswoman Barbara Lee, (D-CA); Member of Financial
Services and General Government; Labor, Health and Human
Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittees,
Appropriations Committee, House of Representatives
(confirmed)
1:30 – 2:30 p.m.
Congress and the Executive Branch: A Cultural Comparison
Room B340 Rayburn HOB
 Mark Lowenthal, former Assistant Director for Analysis and
Production, National Intelligence Council, CIA; former Staff
Director, House Select Committee on Intelligence; and former
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and
Research (confirmed)
2:30 – 2:45 p.m.
Break
2:45 – 3:45 p.m.
Room 340 Cannon HOB
The Role and Operations of a Congressional Caucus:
The Republican Study Committee
 Paul Teller, Executive Director, Republican Study Committee,
House of Representatives (confirmed)
3:45 – 4:00 p.m.
Break
4:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Group Discussion on the current state of Congress
BROOKINGS | 1775 Massachusetts Ave NW Washington, DC 20036 | www.brookings.edu/execed
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Friday, July 13, 2012
Breakfast Individually
9:00 – 10:30 a.m.
Rm. B340 Rayburn HOB
Executive Branch – Congressional Relations: Panel Session
With Federal Agencies’ Legislative Liaison Officers
 Arthur B. Baker, Supervisory Special Agent, Congressional
Affairs Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of
Justice; (invited)
 Laurie Sedlmayr, Senior Legislative Specialist, Legislative Affairs
Group, Bureau of Land Management, Department of Interior;
(likely) and
 Bernard P. Ingold, Deputy Chief Legislative Counsel, Office of the
Chief of Legislative Liaison, Department of the Army (invited)
10:30 – 10:45 a.m.
Break
10:45 – 11:45 a.m.
The Role of Party Leadership: The House Democratic
Room B340 Rayburn HOB Leadership Operation
 Austin Burnes, Director of Legislative Operations, Office of House
Minority Whip, Congressman Steny Hoyer, (D-MD), House of
Representatives (confirmed)
11:45 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Lunch Individually
1:00 – 2:15 p.m.
Lobbying the Congress
Room B340 Rayburn HOB
 Michael Klosson, Associate Vice President and Chief Policy
Officer, Save the Children; former US Ambassador to Cyprus;
(invited) and
 Ed Kaleta, Senior Director, Federal Government Relations,
Walgreens (confirmed)
2:15 – 2:30 p.m.
Break
2:30 – 3:00 p.m.
Seminar Wrap-Up, Evaluation, and Awarding Certificates
Room B340 Rayburn HOB
 Peter Schoettle, Director of Policy Programs, Brookings
Executive Education, the Brookings Institution; and
 Ian Dubin, Program Manager, Brookings Executive
Education, the Brookings Institution
BROOKINGS | 1775 Massachusetts Ave NW Washington, DC 20036 | www.brookings.edu/execed
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