Yesterday, I had the pleasure of attending the Joint Economic Committee hearing of which the Senator I work for is the chairman. The witness was Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve. The hearings are very formal, much like a standard court proceeding. A Joint Committee is composed of half Republican and half Democrat members and the most interesting part of the experience stemmed from the different tone each party took on when addressing Chairman Bernanke.
I felt myself being proud of the manner in which Senator Casey, my boss, conducted himself. While Democrats to his left spoke aggressively and sometimes derogatoryly to Chairman Bernanke and Republicans to his right scolded the liberals' attitudes, Chairman Casey always presented himself as respectful and neutral. Like many in the past who have attended more controversial hearings, the debate and intensity were surprising and attention-grabbing. It is thrilling to see in person the type of dialogue that occurs between some of the most powerful people in our country. Senator Sanders(D-VT) accused the Fed of favoring big business by giving out $16 trillion in low-interest loans to big corporations and wealthy people during the recession while refusing to provide the same loans to small businesses to boost employment. Congressman Burgess (R-TX) interrupted the Chairman several times demanding a "yes or no" answer.
My first congressional hearing was more exciting because my boss was the guy in the middle. However, it is even more interesting to see first-hand how the country can get into gridlock situations because of party clashes. Even more so, difficulty arises when different branches of government blame the other branches for not getting things done. It was evident that the Federal Reserve blames Congress for not being able to pass any economic policy while Congress blames the Fed for its handling of monetary policy. All in all, a great experience.
-AKW
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