“Lame-duck freshmen” also have to juggle the business of being a lawmaker with attending the November orientation sessions required for all new Members.
Because he constantly had to dart in and out of orientation seminars during the last days of the 111th Congress, Stutzman said he wonders whether the freshmen who were sworn in at the beginning of the 112th Congress actually knew more than he did.
But Reed said he got a leg up during the lame-duck session that was invaluable.
“You have a seniority bump over the freshmen class coming in ... you have that precursor of experience, know the lay of the land, where the floor is and how to get there,” Reed said. “It does have its advantages.”
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.
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