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2019–2020 GSA-USGS CONGRESSIONAL SCIENCE FELLOW FINAL REPORT

Knowledge, Persistence, and Trust:

My Congressionally Inspired Roadmap

to a Successful 2020

Like so many others, I had no idea that my It was up to me, as the legislative staffer, to garner enough knowl-
2019–2020 GSA Congressional Fellowship edge about a problem to put together bills that representatives of
would include, well, 2020. I wasn’t aware outside organizations could agree would be necessary.
that my year on the Hill would be inter- One example from my year is very clear: I was asked in
rupted on either end by an impeachment, January to write a bill that would improve the recycling of
which completely derailed the Congress, and lithium-ion batteries in America. I had to determine what the
a pandemic, which also completely derailed primary barriers were to recycling these batteries today, so
the Congress. I didn’t know that the Aaron that when I sent a bill to the Energy Storage Association or
Mike O'Connor Sorkin–inspired fantasy that I was so happy the Electric Drive Coalition for their support, they would agree.
to be living, where I spent my days briskly walking the marbled Based on my outreach and research, the BATTERY Act ended
corridors of the Capitol complex in nice suits while scribbling up becoming a bill to improve the infrastructure surrounding
notes on cards and talking to scores of people darting in and out of lithium-ion recycling (collection, sorting, transportation, etc.),
frame, would be shockingly, abruptly shattered in March, never to rather than the recycling process itself. Because I was able to
return. I didn’t know that Congress, and the world, would be run highlight a true issue in the industry, I was able to acquire a
from couches and dining rooms for the rest of my year. I didn’t dozen groups and the ultimate support of a Republican cosponsor
realize how much would be totally thrown off, upended, and in (Rep. John Curtis, UT-3). On a small scale (US$22 million annual
some cases, destroyed by this year. If I knew this all a year ago, appropriation over five years), knowledge won.
I really might have rejected the whole thing. The BATTERY Act provides a perfect segue to the second pan-
I’d have been a moron to do that. demic-crucial quality: persistence. We hear at our fellowship orien-
Working in government in 2020 was a great gift because it tation that “you should never hear a ‘no’ when there isn’t one.”
forced me to strip down every bell, whistle, frill, or perk that Particularly now, people are more sporadic, burdened, and difficult
would usually come with the job and focus solely on the reason to get ahold of. I learned through workshopping these pieces of leg-
to do the job in the first place: to use the power of the people to islation that non-response does not mean they are not interested.
improve lives. Despite, and in some cases because of, the unrest I emailed more than forty groups for support and more than thirty
and uncertainty of this year, I found myself immersed in a job members of Congress for cosponsorship of the legislation I was
that was as meaningful and consequential as any ever could be. working on. Fewer than ten percent responded to my first email,
Government in 2020 taught me how to work hard, and be success- and less than half responded to my second. Most of the groups, and
ful, when the roof is on fire. Three qualities are most crucial: many of those members, are now supporting these bills. A formal
You must know what you’re doing; you must not stop doing it; training in science is not the ideal environment to learn persistence;
and you must trust that if you know what you’re doing and you however, in my experience this year, it proved crucial.
don’t stop doing it, progress will occur. Finally, this year required us to have so much trust. As the
Everyone knows that in the sciences, knowledge IS currency. walls of society crumbled around us, and our settings and liveli-
Conversely, many may look at the government today, recognizing hoods were upended, it was our responsibility as professionals to
how many policies exist that are incongruous with the current continue to work. To continue to have meetings. To continue to
best-available science, and conclude, reasonably, that knowledge have deadlines. To continue to connect with colleagues, even on a
is seemingly without a place in our democracy. From my experi- bizarre and new platform—to trust that it was still worth it to put
ence, I’ve seen knowledge as a still-relevant player in policy mak- in the work. I have watched a slew of good legislation arise dur-
ing, at least at the small scale. The job of Congress is to legislate ing this pandemic, both related to COVID-19 and apart from it,
on every single topic in existence. “Everything” is a fairly big ask because people were able to put aside the uncertainty and the fear
for congressional offices, which average about nine people plus and just do the work. The comprehensive energy package being
interns. Thus, in most cases, offices rely as much on the word of addressed in the House and Senate, which includes substantial
experts they trust, and those experts carry with them substantial climate provisions and now seems likely to become law, is one
knowledge. I was lucky enough to draft three bills and three clear example of this.
amendments while working in Congressman Paul Tonko’s office. 2020 has not been easy, but I am lucky that it has been quite
Each of those legislative products has the endorsement of ten rewarding. I am so thankful to the thousands of members of GSA
organizations considered thought leaders in their area of exper- who, collectively, have made this fellowship happen, and I hope
tise. Those endorsements are often the hardest-earned agreements that the work I’ve done this year, and the many transferable skills
to be made, because each group has, in addition to an agenda, acquired, will help promote the geosciences in the future. I am
an extremely nuanced understanding of the issue being legislated. thankful to my host office, that of Congressman Paul Tonko, for

16 GSA Today | December 2020