[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 36 (Tuesday, March 28, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E425]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E425]]



           INTERNS FROM DOWN UNDER GIVE CONGRESS A THUMBS UP

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. LORETTA SANCHEZ

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 28, 2000

  Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to rise today to 
honor five outstanding women who recently completed internships on 
Capitol Hill. The students came to Washington, D.C. at their own 
expense through a first-of-its-kind program offered by Flinders 
University in Adelaide, South Australia.
  As our colleagues will surely agree, the best congressional 
internship programs and interns offer a unique window into the future. 
Every year, Congress offers thousands of students a brief time to look 
through this window--the chance to explore and examine this legislative 
world of ours, now 212 years old. Fortunately for those of us who serve 
in this Chamber, they're not the only beneficiaries. We learn a thing 
or two ourselves. This was most definitely the case with the Flinders 
program.
  Australia and the United States are close cousins in many, many ways. 
But despite all that our respective histories and the connectivity of 
Internet Age have to offer, we remain separated by a great physical 
distance that cannot change. It's a mere 8,000 miles from my district 
to Adelaide--and it most definitely was a great privilege for Congress 
to host five young ambassadors and bridge this distance for however 
brief a time. This is what Louise King did in the office of Senator 
Charles Schumer, Sunshine Elmore contributed to my California colleague 
Juanita Millender-McDonald, Kerrie Daniel brought to Louise Slaughter, 
and Narelle Hards added to the Democratic staff of the House 
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
  Of course, the greatest pleasure I have is singling out Estee 
Fiebiger for her contributions to me and my office. Estee had a great 
enthusiasm and propensity for politics, especially foreign policy. She 
played an essential role in drafting analytical reports and helping me 
initiate a detailed analysis of the Human Rights situation in Vietnam.
  Estee's eagerness to learn and to experience all aspects of American 
politics highlights her achievements and her potential for continued 
success. Along with her excellent research, linguistic, and writing 
abilities, Estee's pleasant personality was accompanied with great 
skill and intelligence. Very simply, she was a delight to have in the 
office. The duration of the program--6 weeks--was not nearly enough.
  Mr. Speaker, I sincerely hope this modest, unbureaucratic program 
will inspire other Australian and American institutions to establish 
similar exchanges, for both students and professionals. To improve 
understanding of our processes, our politics and of our multicultural 
peoples to the finest degrees, we need to connect people with people in 
person. This will never change.
  As I'm sure my colleagues who participated in the Flinders program 
will attest, it was a pleasure to work with interns who are teachers as 
much as they are students. I know their families, friends, and 
communities are very proud of their daring to be such pioneers. On 
February 21st, the Roll Call newspaper published a wonderful account of 
the experiences of these women.
  I submit the article to be included in the Congressional Record--and 
in so doing wish Estee, Louise, Narelle, Sunshine and Kerrie every 
continued success.

            [From Roll Call Around the Hill, Feb. 21, 2000]

                        Interns From Down Under

                            (By Edith Chan)

       Congress isn't very down and dirty--at least in the eyes of 
     a group of interns from Down Under.
       Five students from Australia who just wrapped up 
     internships on Capitol Hill say Congress is actually much 
     less partisan than their own country's parliament.
       ``In Australia, it can get a lot worse,'' said Sunshine 
     Elmore, one of the students who came to Washington through a 
     first-of-its kind program offered by Flinders University in 
     Adelaide, Australia.
       Eric Federing, a former Democratic Hill aide who helped 
     found the program, noted that crossing party lines in 
     Australia often proves to be politically damaging.
       ``The rigor of party politics is much stronger in Australia 
     than in the United States,'' said Federing, who is now 
     director of business public policy at accounting giant KPMG.
       ``If a Member crossed party lines [on a vote], it is 
     strongly, strongly frowned upon.''
       Federing, who most recently worked as press secretary for 
     Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.), decided to start the internship 
     program after traveling extensively through Australia.
       ``The experience is fantastic--it is beyond my own 
     expectations,'' he said of the program's first year. ``My 
     only regret is that we could not bring more students over.''
       The interns left town last week after spending six weeks in 
     the offices of various Democratic Members, including Sen. 
     Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.).
       ``The staff has been really encouraging, and they have been 
     really inspiring in helping us participate in a lot of 
     things,'' said Elmore, who interned in the office of Rep. 
     Juanita Millender-McDonald (D-Calif.).
       The students came to Washington in early January. In 
     interviews before leaving town, the students said their 
     perception of America--and Americans--has dramatically 
     changed.
       ``There were a lot of ideas about America, and lots of 
     surprises too,'' said Narelle Hards, who worked for the House 
     Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
       The students were especially excited about being able to 
     watch the Super Bowl live, instead of at 3 a.m. However, they 
     had to watch the Australia Open tennis tournament, normally 
     on during prime time in their home country, at 3 a.m. 
     instead.
       They were also impressed with the way Congressional aides 
     comported themselves.
       ``I really admire the staff,'' said Louise Kings, who 
     worked for Schumer. ``They are loyal and they work really 
     hard.''
       Student Kerrie Daniel recalled that the most memorable 
     moment during her internship came when she got to meet 
     President Clinton earlier this month during a press event. 
     She remembers jumping across the chairs--and getting a small 
     bruise in the process--to shake the the President's hand.
       ``It was amazing to see an important figure in person 
     rather than on TV,'' said Daniel, who worked for Rep. Louise 
     Slaughter (D-N.Y.). ``The President is a fantastic speaker.''
       After spending six weeks on the Hill, Hards said the person 
     she most admires is Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.), ranking 
     member of the Transportation Committee.
       Hards said she was impressed by her boss's knowledge and 
     recalled one instance when he suddenly went from Speaking 
     English to French in the same sentence.
       Their internships also helped to break the cultural 
     barriers and stereotypes between Australians and their 
     American colleagues.
       ``The idea Australians get is that Americans are very USA-
     centered,'' said Daniel. ``But I think that they are very 
     interested in knowing about other places, about other things 
     in the world.''
       And as Daniel found out, there is one thing that is 
     constantly on Americans' minds.
       ``Americans are eager to find out about Australians. 
     Everyone wants to know more about the Olympics,'' she said.
       Besides admiring the doggedness of many Hill staffers, the 
     interns from Australia are also encouraged by the large 
     number of women working in the federal government.
       Estee Fiebiger noted the scarcity of women working in the 
     Australian government, and said the dominating presence of 
     female leaders in Congress has inspired her to brave the 
     grounds of foreign affairs--a traditionally male-dominated 
     field.
       ``Here, no one puts a damper on us because we are women and 
     we are from Australia,'' said Fiebiger, who interned for 
     Sanchez. ``Instead, everyone was curious and was very willing 
     to help us. Instead of putting a damper on us, it made us 
     more enthusiastic.''
       In addition to the legislative workload, the students 
     managed to squeeze in a lot of sightseeing around D.C. Their 
     most interesting day, as Elmore recounted, was building a 
     snowman ``in the middle of the blizzard.''
       Their favorite activities outside of work included museum-
     hopping.
       ``We thought the Smithsonian was one museum,'' Elmore said, 
     adding that six weeks was not long enough to see and do 
     everything they wanted in Washington.
       The students are heading back to Australia to complete 
     their final year at Flinders, where they are all majoring in 
     American studies, and said they can't wait to plan their next 
     visit to the United States.
       The only flaw the students saw in their program was that 
     their stay was too short.
       ``I wish that the internship was longer,'' Daniel said. 
     ``We're leaving just as things were starting to get going.''





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