Every week, HOH gets to know a Member of Congress better through five fun questions. This week, Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-N.C.) talks about dessert and being a nurse.
Q: How is the first year in office treating you?
A: It has been every bit of the challenge I knew it would be.
Q: What was an interesting or challenging case you worked on as a registered nurse?
A: One challenge I remember took place when I was an [intensive care unit] nurse in Michigan. I had a 19-year-old female brought in who was hit by a train. Needless to say, she had sustained traumatic, irreversible brain damage and was taken off life support and died. I remember the family. ... They were from out of state. As we stood at her bedside moments before removing the ventilator, her mother turned to me and asked if I thought her daughter knew they were there and if her soul was still with her body. I remember simply answering, “Yes”. ...
About a month later, the family sent Mass cards to our unit for the nurses that had taken care of their daughter. I carry that card in my wallet today.
Q: Favorite quote?
A: “Seldom do well-behaved women make history.”
Q: Do you have a sweet tooth? If so, treat of choice?
A: I especially like cherry or apple pie.
Q: Fondest high school memory?
A: Climbing up on the football field stadium lights with my fellow senior classmates to hang a huge “EAGLES” sign we made out of old sheets I took from my mother’s linen closet in the middle of the night before homecoming.
Lois Lerner, director of exempt organizations for the IRS, arrives for a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on the investigation of the IRS' targeting of political groups. Lerner invoked her Fifth Amendment right to not testify and caused a protest from some committee members when she offered an opening statement and engaged in dialogue with members before invoking the right.
Roll Call has launched a new feature, Hill Navigator, to advise congressional staffers and would-be staffers on how to manage workplace issues on Capitol Hill. Please send us your questions — anything from office etiquette, to handling awkward moments, to what happens when the work life gets too personal. Submissions will be treated anonymously.
