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December 03, 2008 12:43 AM UTC

Freshman Orientation #2 schedule (policy orientation at Harvard)

  • 44 Comments
  • by: Jared Polis

(Bumping this into Wednesday – promoted by Colorado Pols)

Two weeks ago we had a weeklong “Freshman orientation” in DC for the incoming class of 53 members.

We mostly covered the (complex) logistical aspects of setting up our offices, picking out furniture, choosing our offices, employment policies, ethics, how voting on the floor works, etc. I enjoyed spending time with Mike Coffman and Betsy Markey from our delegation. All of New Mexico’s three representatives are Freshman this year as well, and there was also one from NV and one from AZ so we had quite the block from the west.

This week many members of the Freshman class will be in Boston for a more policy-oriented new member orientation at Harvard’s Kennedy School, and I thought you might be interested in seeing what’s on tap for Congress’s newest members.

Colorado’s own Diana DeGette is one of the presenters, and her session is entitled “MAKING AN IMPACT AS A NEW MEMBER OF CONGRESS”. Our schedule is after the jump.

Tuesday, Dec 2nd, 2008

5:30 p.m. OPENING RECEPTION

The Honorable Bill Purcell, Director, Institute of Politics;

Mayor, Nashville, TN (1999-2007)

David Ellwood, Dean, John F. Kennedy School of Government

The Honorable Michael Capuano, Member, United States House of

Representatives (D-08, MA)

Drew Faust, President, Harvard University

6:30p.m. NEW ENGLAND CLAMBAKE

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. BREAKFAST

9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. THE STATUS OF INTELLIGENCE REFORM AND THE

IMPORTANT ROLE OF CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT

The Honorable Mike McConnell, Director of National Intelligence

Moderated by: Mary Margaret Graham, Fellow, Institute of Politics Fall 2008, former Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Collection  

10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. THE POLITICS OF APPROPRIATIONS AND BUDGET

Linda Bilmes, Lecturer in Public Finance, Harvard Kennedy School

Maya MacGuineas, President, Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget;

Director, Fiscal Policy Program, New America Foundation  

The Honorable David Walker, President and CEO,

Peter G. Peterson Foundation

11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. FUTURE OF AMERICAN POWER

Joseph S. Nye, Jr., University Distinguished Service and

Professor Sultan of Oman Professor of International Relations,

John F. Kennedy School of Government

12:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. LUNCH

RADICAL CHANGES IN AMERICAN FAMILIES:  

CHALLENGES FOR BUSINESS AND GOVERNMENT

David Ellwood, Dean, John F. Kennedy School of Government

2:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. BREAK

3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN: WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and

International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

The Honorable Nicholas Burns, Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and

International Politics, Harvard Kennedy School

Meghan O’Sullivan, Lecturer in Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy

School

6:00 p.m. FORUM EVENT

7:30 p.m. RECEPTION AND DINNER WITH HARVARD FACULTY

EDUCATION: A SMART INVESTMENT

William Gates Sr., Co-chair, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Thursday, December 4, 2008

8:00 a.m. BREAKFAST

9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. UNDERSTANDING THE ECONOMIC CRISIS Robert Lawrence, Albert L. Williams Professor of International Trade and

Investment, Harvard Kennedy School

Jeffery Liebman, Malcolm Wiener Professor of Public Policy,

Harvard Kennedy School

Gregory Mankiw, Professor of Economics, Harvard University

Elizabeth Warren, Leo Gottlieb Professor of Law, Harvard Law School

David Ellwood (moderator), Dean, John F. Kennedy School of Government

10:30 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. BREAK

10:45 a.m. – 12 noon TRANSITIONING TO A CLEAN ENERGY ECONOMY

Van Jones, Founding President, Green for All;

Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress

Cathy Zoi, CEO, Alliance for Climate Protection

Maralee Schwartz (moderator), Visiting Murrow Lecturer in the Practice of

Press and Politics, Harvard Kennedy School

12:00 noon – 1:30 p.m. MAKING AN IMPACT AS A NEW MEMBER OF CONGRESS

The Honorable Diana DeGette, Member, United States House of

Representatives (D-01, CO)

Elizabeth Sears Smith, Chief of Staff, Congressman Rahm Emanuel

David King (moderator), Lecturer in Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School

1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. ENERGY AND NATIONAL SECURITY

John Holdren, Director and Faculty Chair, Science, Technology and Public

Policy Program, Harvard Kennedy School

Kelly Sims Gallagher, Director, Energy Technology Innovation Policy and

Adjunct Lecturer, Harvard Kennedy School

The Honorable Phil Sharp, President, Resources for the Future;

Member, Institute of Politics Senior Advisory Committee;

Member, United States House of Representatives (IN-2, D, 1975-1995)

Graham Allison (moderator), Director, Belfer Center for Science and

International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. PUBLIC EDUCATION: WHAT CAN CONGRESS DO?

Susan Moore Johnson, Carl H. Pforzheimer, Jr. Professor of Teaching and

Learning, Harvard Graduate School of Education

Thomas Kane, Professor of Education and Economics, Harvard Graduate

School of Education; Faculty Director, Center for Education Policy

Research, Harvard University

Bridget Terry Long, Associate Professor of Education and Economics,

Harvard Graduate School of Education

Robert B. Schwartz, Academic Dean and William Henry Bloomberg

Professor of Practice, Harvard Graduate School of Education

The Honorable Bill Purcell (moderator), Director, Institute of Politics;

Mayor, Nashville, TN (1999-2007)

6:00 p.m. DEPART FOR THE LIBRARY

8:00 p.m. DINNER

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE ELECTION OF

BARACK OBAMA ON AMERICAN RACE RELATIONS

Lawrence Bobo, W. E. B. Du Bois Professor of the Social Sciences,

Harvard University

Henry Louis Gates, W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American,

Harvard University

Claudine Gay, Professor of Government and of Africa and

African American Studies, Harvard University

William Julius Wilson, Lewis P. and Linda L. Geyser University Professor,

Harvard University

10:00 p.m. ARRIVE BACK AT  HOTEL

Friday, December 5, 2006

8:00 – 9:00 a.m. BREAKFAST WITH KENNEDY SCHOOL STUDENTS

9:00 – 10:30 a.m. HEALTHCARE POLICY

Joseph S. Nye, Jr. Stuart Butler, Vice President, Domestic and Economic Policy Studies

Conference Center Diane Rowland, Executive Vice President, Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation

Tim Westmorland, Visiting Professor of Law, Georgetown Law School

Gail Wilensky, Senior Fellow, Project Hope

Sheila Burke (moderator), Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy and F

Faculty Research Fellow, Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy,

Harvard Kennedy School

10:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. BREAK

11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. STANDING ON THE EDGE OF A NEW FRONTIER:

THE WORLD IN 2033

Jonathan Zittrain, Professor of Law and Faculty Co-Director,

Berkman Center for Internet and Society, Harvard Law School

Elaine Kamarck (moderator), Lecturer in Public Policy, John F. Kennedy School of Government

12:15 p.m. LUNCH

That’s it!

Jared Polis

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44 thoughts on “Freshman Orientation #2 schedule (policy orientation at Harvard)”

  1. I hope you’ll continue to keep us updated when the new session starts.

    I bet I can guess the one you’re most excited about: PUBLIC EDUCATION: WHAT CAN CONGRESS DO?

    Also congrats on your appointment to the Steering and Policy Committee.

  2. .

    I respectfully recommend that you edit this to remove the information on specific locations.  Made me uneasy, seeing names, dates and locations of potential targets, where anyone contemplating mischief could see them.  

    …..

    Also, I was chagrined to see who would be lecturing the incoming Representatives on what to do about Iraq & Afghanistan.  Except Dan Senor and Jerry Bremer, there is nobody less qualified than Meghan O’Sullivan to talk on this subject.  

    I’ve spoken to you briefly on this, Jared, and you have a far better grasp of the challenges than she does.  

    Perhaps you and the other “Responsible Plan” cosigners (did the others win ?) could stand and turn your backs whenever she talks ?

    Ambassador Burns could have at least lifted a finger in his position as Assistant Secretary to stop the madness,

    and for all I know, maybe he did, and was shot down.

    But Ms. O’Sullivan was the one mixing and serving the Kool-aid about “transforming the Middle East.”

    .  

    1. I have removed any remaining locations from the post.

      I posted this precisely so that you could see who was talking to the incoming members as experts, and appreciate your comments regarding the speakers. I certainly won’t turn my back on anyone, but I think it’s important that the public know who the Freshman are hearing from at this semi-official event.

      Jared Polis

        1. and possibly singular as well?

          It’s like “sheep,” which is totally appropriate.

          Ooh, frosh burn! I feel like I’m in college again, and popular this time!

      1. .

        you believe we could have turned Iraq into a bastion of Democracy and a friend of Israel,

        persuaded Iraqis to abandon their culture and values,

        and reconciled ancient inter-confessional schisms,

        if only our troops hadn’t failed to properly execute her bold, ambitious plan ?  

        That’s what she believes and that’s what she advocated.  Regardless of her education and experience, I say that disqualifies her from being taken seriously on this topic.  

        .

    1. She got one of the few bills passed over Bush’s objections during the Republican monopoly of power. I think by any measure she showed herself to be very effective.

      Now you can disagree with her politics, what she focuses on, or the fact that she has a very safe seat. But I don’t think it’s fair to say she is not effective.

      1. ..has resulted in my bias against her.  Which, may be news to you, is a totally appropriate form of and basis for bias.  The one vague, unnamed bill to which you refer, in the midst of her entire dishwater career, does not change my conclusion.

        2. And how people feel that DeGette’s service stacks up against Patricia Schroeder’s.

          I’m also curious, in general, as to who Polsters think is the most effective Colorado congressperson.

          2. at a time when women were rare in the congress she was extremely powerful inspite of the old boy power structure.  No comparison.

            Most effective?  Everyone is such a newbie (3 freshmen, 1 sophmore) Degette is the most effective almost by default, but I woud have to say that Ed is the most likely to have a breakout unless Jared decides to stay for a decade.

            1. This is like a software project while under development – “it’s going to be great” and “it’s shipping tomorrow.” And it goes on like that for way too long.

              Maybe Perlmutter is going to be as great as everyone expects. And selling himself as the next big thing for Colorado is a useful skill to become more powerful.

              But I think we need to wait and see. Betsy Markey, Jared Polis, & Mike Coffman also all have a lot of potential and we have yet to see how they will do in Congress.

    2. Aren’t you forgetting DeGette’s ability to build a bipartisan coalition to pass her stem cell research funding bill – twice — in the face of Pres. Bush’s veto threats; her critical role on the conference committee for the consumer product safety bill this past session; her leadership role on children’s health and food safety issues; her position as co-chair of the Choice Caucus; and her effectiveness as a Chief Deputy Whip?

  4. I look forward to your continued efforts to include your constituents in their government.

    The next couple of years are going to be hard: We must meet some of the most difficult challenges at a time when people are only reawakening to the possibilities of their government.

    Also a nod to Brian on the security issue.

  5. There are two of these “policy” orientations. Only a few of the Republican Freshman are at this one (Harvard=too liberal perhaps) but nearly all of the Democrats are.

    The other one, occuring next week, is hosted by the Heritage Foundation and it will be nearly all the Republicans and only a few Democrats.

    Personally, I think it’s unfortuante that we can’t have one orientation for us all to start building relationships and hear from all sides, that would be better prep for Congress itself, or at least how it should be.

    Jared Polis

      1. I’m a Republican, and if you were in my district I’d never vote for you in a million years.

        But…

        I’m proud of you, and I believe you are in politics to make a difference, and because of the money that so many here crap on you about, you haven’t had to cow tow to the typical special interests.  Good luck to you – I think you have a lot of class.

        Now, please go to congress and promote vouchers.

        🙂

      2. Laughing Boy kind of took the crux of what I was going to say about being a Republican and such 🙂

        But seriously, thank you SO much for posting this!  I really do enjoy this little peek into the process.  You’re the man!!  If you can find a way of continuing this when the sessions are underway, that would be awesome!

        As a side note, if I were a congressman, I would have gone to both the liberal and conservative policy discussion meetings.

      3. Thanx LB and Haners. Hopefully more elected officials will realize that real people communicate this way and that the erstwhile trolls and sockpuppets of election season disappear come election day yielding to more civil but nonetheless spirited discourse.

        Jared Polis

      1. Yes I will be attending the Heritage one as well, it’s important to see what they are up to as well as to meet the rest of the incoming Republican Reps.

        BTW, Colorado’s Mike Coffman is one of the Republicans who is at this Harvard orientation.

        I would live blog, but it’s too darn depressing. We talked about the threat of bioterrorism this morning and now they are going over the trillion dollar + budget deficit. We have quite a mess to fix.

        Jared Polis

        1. …the job would be boring.

          Keep in mind that the human race almost always faces large problems. And compared to many, what we face today is not that bad and is very fixable.

          And when they list all the awful things that can happen, while a couple will, most won’t. Don’t let the D.C. fishbowl wreck your sense of perspective.

  6. I hope your congressional website will be more expansive then the current offerings. Hopefully you can attend the Heritage event and do a compare-contract-learnings post.

    p.s. how many of you internet businesspeople are there in congress/senate? As an example I would put Sen Cantwell on the list, but she was not multi venture founder.

    1. In fact, IIRC, the special election of Bill Foster in this past session put one of the first technology businessmen in the House.

      We’re perilously short of people with an understanding of IT or technology in general.  While I know Jared might have his eyes on a number of committees of interest to him, I do hope that he gets to contribute significantly to the IT understanding of the Congress.

      1. While I know Jared might have his eyes on a number of committees of interest to him, I do hope that he gets to contribute significantly to the IT understanding of the Congress.

        Agreed.

        Anything Congressman Polis can do to make broadband service less costly would be appreciated. I’ve read that our country is #22 in affordability and #25 in penetration of service.

        I also agree that attending the Heritage event would be eye-opening: for Congressman Polis; for the Republicans, having a newly-elected Democrat in their midst; and for us–if the congressman chooses to tell us about it.

        Looking forward to hearing some of the key points made during the orientation.

        1. part of Obama’s stimulus plan? I thought he wanted universal access, which involves a ton of laying cable and such.

          It’s not all SUPERTRAINS (as Atrios would say).

  7. This is a great diary.

    I didn’t support you in the primary but know you will bring to your congressional seat a passion and insight that will benefit your constituents.

    Thanks for the information and looking forward to other updates you have to post here in the future.

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