CONGRESSMAN DENNIS KUCINICH
(OHIO DEMOCRAT, DISTRICT #10)
Jason R. Lim

A Dean’s List student with majors in political science and pre-law plus a minor in environmental studies at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Jason Lim first applied to the Washington Internship Program in 2004, but he deferred on April 14 after finding a job on his own. As is the policy of WIP when a participant must drop-out for any reason, Jason was welcome to return at any time, and he reactivated his candidacy the following year in early November, at which time the Washington Internship placed him on January 25, 2006 within the United States Congress with Representative Dennis Kucinich, a Democrat from District #10 in Ohio. Jason also had interviews and offers from the National Wildlife Federation and other environmental organizations, but he decided to work on Capitol Hill from late January (just after graduation) through June. Previously, Jason served on campus through ASMU Student Government, worked as a teaching assistant, participated in academic competition on Quiz Bowl, belonged to College Democrats, worked at America Coming Together and as a legislative assistant coordinator, conducted poling research, and was involved in politics on a grassroots level. He traveled extensively to Canada, China, England, Ireland, Australia, Belgium, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, France, Poland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Czech Republic, Netherlands, and Japan. Jason lived with other interns from across America and abroad within International House, which is run by WIP in the luxurious home of a former D.C. Mayor. Jason was pleased when his Congressional internship was tailored to include conservation and global topics as well as his political interests, so ultimately Jason was not forced to choose between these three areas. The contract WIP secures for all interns allows the placements to be personalized to match individual specialties. Jason’s account of working in the Longworth House Office Building is detailed below:   

“My internship experience began in late January of 2006. Although there was no snow on the ground, the weather was quite cold. When my plane touched down at Washington National Airport on that winter day, it resembled many other times when I had visited my aunt and uncle who live in Alexandria Virginia, but now I was coming not for a short holiday but a four and-a-half month internship with Congressman Dennis Kucinich from Ohio, serving the tenth district, which includes parts of Cleveland, Cuyahoga Falls, and other neighboring areas. As soon as I landed, I called my new boss, the intern and legislative coordinator, to arrange the time on which I should report the next day. A congressional intern has many varied duties. When Congress is in session, life on Capitol Hill can be hectic and fast-paced; it goes by in a flash. When Congress is not in session, the hours seem long and slow, but I wouldn’t trade those days for anything because we spent time talking and bonding with staff members. The Congressman’s staff was like a dysfunctional family: everyone poked fun and joked, but you could feel love in the atmosphere. My tasks included batching stacks of incoming letters and entering them by topic into a database. In the middle of the internship, I began drafting responses to constituents. We also had “folding parties” (about twice a month) in the afternoon on non-congressional days when the entire staff sat around the table in the main conference room, folded responses, and stuffed them into envelopes. Like other interns, I sometimes sit at the front desk and answered questions ranging from ‘Where is the nearest Metro stop?’ to ‘What is the Congressman’s stance?’ on a certain issue. The interns often served as the face of the office when constituents visited. I answered phone calls from citizens, other politicians, staff members, and even the congressman himself when he was in the district. I mailed and sorted hundreds of faxes received on a daily basis. During my tenure, there were five interns in our office – only two of whom worked full-time five days a week. Compared to the other interns, I led the most tours of the Capitol building – about thirty in total and sometimes twice in one day. I also ran errands to other Congressional offices and collected signatures or got materials from the Congressional supply store in the basement of the Canon House Office Building.”

“On the second day of the internship, I was asked to name four areas of interest; I chose the environment, international relations, economics, and education. I was immediately assigned projects in these areas, the first of which entailed global warming. I gathered information from magazines, newspapers, and on-line journals. After three months, I organized the results in a cohesive, orderly fashion and then helped co-author, with the environmental aide, an article on global-warming for an Ohio magazine. In addition, I worked on projects dealing with the economy and a political story related to the environment in the People’s Republic of China. I gathered facts on this topic and delivered them to Congressman Kucinich as he asked me to do, and then I wrote an extensive paper that I presented to him. I worked on another project devoted to U.S. relations with Iran and a political profile of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. I completed a smaller research project when workers in France went on strike. I explored conditions that led to the strike and protested unfair workers’ laws. In the process, I consulted sources like Le Monde, BBC News, and the International Herald Tribune. The Congressman received the New York Times the every day, from which he chose an article one day and asked me to research a merger between two corporations: Starwood Hotel and Marriott because the Congressman was concerned about the ramification of a monopoly that could violate anti-trust legislation. I contacted the headquarters of both companies to find relevant information. In the end, I compiled a report for the Securities and Exchange Commission that led to the SEC filing against the merger. (However, the SEC did not go forward to block the merger since it related on a small scale to local hotels and did not involve a companywide conglomerate.) I was called the ‘lab rat’ in the office because I was always doing research on projects large and small. I could usually be found in the library or on the computer gathering data for assignments I had been given. I also attended a state speech that Chinese President Hu Jintao delivered at the White House and an address by Italy’s former Prime Minister Silvio Belusconi in the House Chambers.”

“The Congressional briefings I attended dealt with subjects of interest to me, like the State PIRG programs and the success of environmental protection, among other forms of activism. I went to a briefing on free-trade related to coffee from South America where farmers were getting paid low wages that could not support their families. I also attended a briefing on energy concerns and solutions, the future of hydrogen, bio-mass conversion, and ethanol fuels. Yet another briefing I witnessed covered the future of global energy and worldwide climate change as well as informational briefings on what this generation can do to protect the earth.”

“I can’t put into words all aspects of my internship on Capitol Hill except to say that it was unforgettable, and I would never trade my time in Washington, D.C. for anything else I can imagine. I was a part of a caring family of staff members who worked on matters of international significance.”

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