Heard on the Hill: Fish Out of Water
Roll Call Staff
Related Content
While hot-shot Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps tried to draw laughs on “Saturday Night Live” this week, his swimming teammate Ryan Lochte came to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to attend to far more serious matters.
Sporting his five Olympic medals (two of them gold) and a Team USA polo shirt, Lochte joined several Members at a press conference to urge reauthorization of legislation that would expand research on muscular dystrophy. It’s a cause near to Lochte’s heart, as he lost a family member to the disease.
And while Members backing the legislation couldn’t stop gushing over the Olympic champion, a very bashful Lochte told HOH he was “in awe” of life on Capitol Hill.
“I didn’t know what to say or do,” Lochte said of his first-ever visit to the Capitol. “I just kept my arms down by my side.”
Lochte’s favorite part of the visit, he said, was something enjoyed by hundreds of non-Olympians each day: Statuary Hall’s famed whisper spot. “That was so neat. That was awesome,” he added, smiling.
For their part, Members on hand couldn’t stop praising the Olympian.
“I left a luncheon with the vice president to come over and join Ryan Lochte,” Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss) said. “Guess what I’ll be telling my wife about when I get home?”
Sen. Amy Klobuchar joked that she was the leadoff in the relay of the event, as she was the first to speak. Not that the Minnesota Democrat could ever reach the Olympic games, at least for swimming.
“What I don’t want to tell you is that I had to take ‘Pollywogs’ three times,” Klobuchar said. “I had a little bit of trouble with the deep end in the second grade.”
Over in Lane Two. Ryan Lochte might be a rookie athlete-lobbyist, but a veteran of the sport also appeared on Capitol Hill on Tuesday. NASCAR star Jeff Gordon joined North Carolina Rep. Robin Hayes (R) to appeal for continued federal funding for the National Marrow Donor Program.
Gordon met with several Members to discuss advances in cord blood research and cell transplants. He’s visited Capitol Hill several times before, and he told HOH that he’ll keep coming to ensure funds reach the program, which has helped treat diseases such as leukemia, lymphoma and sickle-cell anemia.
“We’re going to make sure we send them plenty of literature to remind them of this visit,” Gordon said. “We’re saving lives. That’s the bottom line.”
A Really Expensive Gift (Wrap). With the financial world in serious trouble these days, most folks are, at the very least, cutting costs. The whole lavish spending thing really seems to be just about over.
So it really isn’t a big surprise that when a video clip surfaced in recent days of the wife of a top lobbyist wrapping gifts with actual money, it caused a bit of an uproar.
Edwina Rogers is the former associate director of President Bush’s National Economic Council and the wife of top Republican lobbyist Ed Rogers.
She agreed to appear in the pilot episode of “Power House,” a new television show that takes viewers into the homes of Washington, D.C.’s most powerful people. (Host Mario Correa described it as “Cribs for Wonks.”) The Rogers’ home is a perfect fit for the show — at 18,000 square feet, Surry Hill (yes, it’s named) has been labeled the Republican Shangri-la. (Translation: It’s in McLean.)
In the pilot, Edwina Rogers takes Correa into a room designed specifically for wrapping presents and storing shoes. She then asks Correa to help her wrap gifts using rolls of $1 bills, which she had ordered from the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.
Taylor: Preventing Another Underwear Bomber
March 19, 4:09 p.m.
The intelligence community faces challenges daily. No example is more emblematic of the problems faced than the so-called underwear bomber of 2009. As threats emerge, the hunt for “persons of interest” must occur in a more reliable and efficient manner because the consequences of inaction can be catastrophic. Read Full Article
Roll Call Video Channels
