Originally aired February 9, 2001

Most Nebraskans know Chuck Hagel, Ben Nelson and the rest of our congressional delegation.

But there are a lot of less visible Nebraskans working behind them. These congressional staffers do everything from answer phones to write legislation.

"Statewide's" Brad Penner traveled to Washington, D.C. for the start of this congressional session, and learned more about why these staffers do what they do, and what attracts these energetic young men and women to life on the hill.

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TRANSCRIPT

Transcript of Perspective

Reported by Statewide correspondent, Brad Penner.

We see the famous faces of our elected leaders. We imagine what their lives might be like in Washington. We hear what they say about important issues.
What do you hope to accomplish while in office?
[Congressman Tom Osborne] "Well, I guess there are really three things that are most important as far as the third district of Nebraska is concerned…"
And behind the scenes, anonymous staffers work to prepare our representatives for the political battles on Capitol Hill.
Tucker Omel is on the staff of Congressman Tom Osborne. He interned for Congressman Bill Barrett last summer.
[Tucker Omel] "I stayed in an American University last summer. It was an hour to get here and all of it on the metro and the bus, then a couple blocks walk."
Tucker just graduated from UNL. His hometown is Grand Island. He shares a small apartment with co-worker Lisa Knott, but they make it clear, there's no romance there. Splitting the rent is the only way they can afford a place near Capitol Hill.
[Lisa Knott] "A block up a two-bedroom apartment is going for like $1,200. I mean, on a staffer's salary that gets to be kind of expensive. Because contrary to what people think, we're not the most highest paid people in Washington. Those would be the lobbyists."
Every morning they share a ride to work.
[Knott] "Now, we're not far from work at all, thank goodness! When I first moved here I was in the suburbs 'cause I just didn't think that I was quite ready for the city. But the ten to fifteen miles it actually was from the Hill it was taking me an hour and fourty-five minutes. So, I decided that that just wasn't worth it."
Life in Washington offers challenges and rewards.
[Knott] "You can't have a nice car in D.C. though. Something really bad will happen to it."
[Omel] "I kind of progressed through the towns I lived in from smallest up until D.C. I went from four thousand to forty thousand to a hundred thousand. Then I lived here for a month, you know, a couple of million. And so I'm kind of used to it so it really doesn't bug me at all."
Life in D.C. attracts Nebraskans looking for something different.
What makes you want to live here?
[Liz Scanlon] "It's a cool place to live. There's all sorts of stuff going on. I mean, where else do you get to live and work that you… you know, you walk to the U.S. Capitol everyday. Or you get to see the President's helicopter land at the White House every day."
Liz scanlon grew up in Lincoln and Omaha. She went to college at the University of Pennsylvania, intending to become a doctor. Instead, she majored in sociology and developed a taste for policy and politics. Now she's a legislative assistant to Senator Chuck Hagel.
[Scanlon] "And that means that I'm pretty much responsible for legislation and policy as well as government agencies for certain issue areas. What I like about what I do is the fact that I get to help people. I mean, I think that's sort of the switch from medicine to… to working for Senator Hagel and working in politics is the fact that everyday there's personal interaction and I actually am trying to solve a problem and help someone."
Look around Capitol Hill and you'll see a lot of young people. Liz graduated from college less than three years ago.
[Scanlon] "Part of it is… is we really want to do it. We're willing to, I guess, work hard long hours for not a whole lot of money. And we aren't… we don't have the expertise and the experience to be lured away by some of your lobbying friends or your agencies or administration positions."
Her boss says he tries to create opportunities for young people from Nebraska.
[Sen. Chuck Hagel] "I want 'em around me. I want 'em around me because I like the energy and they're smart and they're engaged and they believe in things and they're optimistic and they're very buoyant. But I want 'em around… I want 'em around me because I want to help them a little bit too. I want them to get something out of this experience."
Hagel himself started his political career as a staffer for Omaha Congressman John Y. McCollister.
[Hagel] "I learned so much. I learned about this country. I learned about the basics, the foundation of this country. I learned about people. And these are skills and experiences that you transfer to everything that you ever do in your life. It's a tremendous way to absorb this country.
"The best way to understand any business, whether its politics… any discipline in life, is to learn it from the bottom up, not the top down."
Staff from the home state can also help a member of the House or Senate connect with constituents.
[Rieker] "They know how to pronounce the names of the communities. They can say Ogallala and… and other community names like that with… Kearney, not Kerny, or something like that. Where the people who call into the office have a feeling that they're talking to somebody who understands the district and can connect with them and relate to what they're talking about."
Anne Armitage is learning the ropes on Senator Ben Nelson's staff.
[Anne Armitage] "I'm from Omaha, Nebraska, and I just recently graduated from UNL."
This is her first job on Capitol Hill.
[Armitage] "So right now I'm administrative assistant, so I'm answering phones, opening mail. But it's certainly what I'm looking at as a place to start."
Anne majored in political science, but says her real political education began with an internship for Senator Bob Kerrey.
[Armitage] "And once I found out about the internship I took it and came here and I don't think I ever knew about politics before I came here. It was so different and so amazing that how much influence you can have in what you're doing. And once I came here, I knew this was something I really wanted to keep doing and work in Washington for a while."
Kim Wellman took a different route to Washington. After attending UNK, she worked as a radio news director for a few years. A fellowship for journalists brought her to Capitol Hill. Now she's on Congressman Osborne's staff. Her new career allows her to use her journalism skills.
[Kim Wellman] "Basically, you do research for them, you ask lots of questions, you do a lot of background information, so that if they have any questions for you on an issue, such as defense or such as gun control or things like that, you're up to speed, you know what you're talking about and you can make… make sure that they know what they're doing as well.
"To me it's a help with those issues is exciting. I like helping people and this is one way I feel I can give back to my community by helping be a public servant. Helping members of the Congress to do their job."
Kelly Sokol says she was a political junkie at an early age. She had a feeling that Nebraska doesn't always get a fair shake with the Federal Government.
[Kelly Sokol] "People just assume that Nebraska will keep on doing what Nebraska does and there's an interest when you feel like your state's not being represented. You want to be there and do something.
"We don't even have a direct dial set up yet.. No cards or anything."
As press secretary, Kelly works with reporters like Don Walton of the Lincoln Journal-Star.
[Sokol] "We'd like to thank all of you guys for making it this morning. We just want to kind of try and have a real informal breakfast."
She set up this meeting with reporters on Congressman Osborne's first day on the job. Kelly's from Omaha, but she worked in D.C. for the Washington Post Website. She says her new job is an incredible opportunity.
[Sokol] "When you stop and you look around and say, I can't believe this is really where I am. What an incredible place. So much that represents what we're about in Nebraska, what the whole country is about, there's just a feeling about Washington that's unlike any other place."
[Osborne] "Well Tucker, we've got a lot of mail here somewhere. I haven't seen it yet."
Life in Washington isn't always exciting, but staffers like Tucker Omel come to Capitol Hill because they want to serve and they want to learn.
[Omel] "It's always been something I've been interested in as far as running for office and… you know, public service. But right now the way to get your foot in the door is working and actually getting to know the issues and things like that for a currently elected person. So maybe someday in the future…like I said, right now I'm trying to do a good job for the new Congressman."
Some may pursue political careers.
[Wellman] "Maybe. I think actually rather than being a Senator, I might be Chief of Staff or someone else in that type of role."
Others may turn to the private sector.
[Knott] "I think a good time frame to think of being on the hill is about five years. I've got two years in now… a little over two years. Then I think I'd like to take that off the Hill. I'm really interested in campaigns and election so I actually wouldn't mind working a major campaign someday. Kind of a campaign advisor. Or I could see myself moving into the lobbying side and get a particular expertise on all the issues that I'm working in now and then see what, you know, that could produce off the Hill."
Some of these young Nebraskans will look for opportunity back home. Others will build careers and lives in our nation's capital. Liz Scanlon says right now, she has the best of both worlds in Washington.
[Scanlon] "It's sort of the heart of… of everything that has to do with politics and culture and… and at the same time I get to keep my ties to Nebraska and my ties to the people from Nebraska."