On the Hill Again, Over the Hill Again

It was a very busy day on Capitol Hill and it wasn't hard to see what was up: the budget. Tensions were already running high by 9 am. And the folks inside the marble halls were also talking about FISA, Baghdad, the housing crisis, jobs, education loans, and the railroads. My team and I entered the Senate Russell building, which is usually stately, and the tones are hushed. Yesterday there was a level of frenzy usually seen across the neighborhood, in the House office buildings. We went to several Senate offices and dropped off folders full of information on the creative arts therapy. Not one staffer could actually come out to see us, which is also unusual. We were able to mention the words "returning vets" and PTSD treatment, but that was about all that we saw the receptionists write down.

Hillary Clinton has a bill about providing funds for research on autism, but one can see how epic the issues are in the Senate these days, compared to the somewhat paltry amounts and superficial understandings represented in most of the funding bills. Everyone is terribly concerned about earmarks (aka "pork", which is apparently not to be tolerated this time around---hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha...wiping away tears....AS IF!) For the record, we in the arts warrior business do not consider taking care of returning vets, feeding the human spirit, or giving children access to deep learning and therapeutic services "pork".

Also walking the halls with us yesterday were officials and lobbyists from the railroads industries. They were uniformly white and male, and crisply attired in the de rigeur white shirt, red or blue tie and dark jacket. There were a lot more of them than there were of us.

I told the group I was with that they were actually the good guys--they wore nametags that identified their issue and they are also trying to save their endeavors from going into the mudslide that appears to be a -comin'.

"It's the packs of white guys who do not wear nametags and who do not identify their issues that we need to note," I told the group. "Watch them."

Let me describe the behavior of these lobbyists. There are always one or two obviously seasoned guys, who are rotund, white-haired, and who resemble Senators without actually being elected officials of any kind. They move with confidence and they are vigilant. Their pace is moderate, they are on a schedule and they know exactly where they are going and how long it will take (unlike the citizen-advocates, who have name tags to remind them of who they are, and whose expressions are often harried).

They meet with the senior staffers, or in some cases, the Senator, and have a great time, with lots of back-slapping and reassuring guffaws on all sides.

We hopped over to the House. If the tension and high energy at the Senate were a bit more than usual, the House side resembled Grand Central, with all the trains leaving at once. Groups of advocates, packs of lobbyists, and staffers were running about. I saw one well-known newscaster walking quickly, with an ear piece dangling a wire and gobbling a sandwich as he hurried off, chewing fast as he hurtled along.

The people's business is getting short shrift, my fellow citizens and patriots. The noise level and the influence-peddling are out of control. At one point, our meeting with a really lovely young staffer for a very good House Member took place in the cafeteria, there being no table or chairs available in the office. There were similar meetings happening all around us. We spoke deeply about the PTSD and autism issues, gave him several examples of how effective the arts can be therapeutically for both concerns, and heard him talk to us about the Representative's personal passion and concern for both. But power? Not so much.

Read the legislation that passes for policy change these days. The bill I linked to is S 1271 IS introduced May 2, 2007. It reads:

Mr. OBAMA (for himself and Mrs. MCCASKILL) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services:

To provide for a comprehensive national research effort on the physical and mental health and other readjustment needs of the members of the Armed Forces and veterans who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom and their families.

Durbin and Baucus are the other two co-sponsors and it languishes in the Armed Services Committee.

The creative arts therapists are proud, and they should be, that they are active citizens who took the time to come to Washington and tell the policy makers about the rich and powerful work they do. Unfortunately, the rich and powerful work does not infringe much on the rich and powerful lobbyists and those who feed off of them.

Until we, the people take charge of this sick system, and give it a good dose of kick-ass medicine, we will continue to be the victims of that system.