Cold Feet
But it’s not what you think. It really is cold feet. Freezing, in fact. That’s part of the insights from my experience testifying before the House Ways & Means committee hearing insights.
About a month ago, I had the honor of testifying before the House Ways & Means committee about Washington State’s best-in-class Paid Family and Medical Leave Program. I finally had time to compile some key observations from that experience.
#1: Socks — It was (and apparently always is) absolutely frigid in that room. I had hoped that, with enough bodies and enthusiasm in the room, it would warm up — but, alas, not so much. By the end of the hearing, I could barely feel my toes. So- tip#1 — when testifying at Ways & Means: Wear Socks!
#2: Water — I was incredibly nervous going into the hearing (as I usually am for a big presentation) and could feel my throat drying up prior to my turn. So I drank the water they set out in front of me. A lot of it. 3 large cupfuls of it. That was within the first 10 minutes. Now, I knew the hearing was supposed to go for a couple of hours or so, but I wasn’t worried. But as we passed the 2-hour mark and were barely half-way through, I thought “uh-oh”. But none of the others testifying seemed to be moving. My DC-based colleague slid me a note with an offer to help me step out for a moment if I needed, but I was not going to be the first to crack. Ultimately, I lasted all the way through the approximately 4.5 hours of hearing but learned a very important lesson: tip #2: don’t drink tons of water at the start of hearing when you don’t know how long it will last.
#3: Hearing — There’s a reason it’s called a “hearing”. It’s so that we can listen and hear each other. It was tempting to simply focus on what I needed to say, but the best moments for me were when I simply listened — whether it was to the Committee members or to my fellow panelists. By really concentrating on listening, when I needed to speak, I knew what to say and could also relate it to what had already been said.
#4: Butterflies — It’s a really big deal to testify before the full Ways & Means committee. And as I shared before, I was really nervous. The butterflies were doing backflips! To prepare, right before, I took a few deep breaths and imagined the butterflies catching the wind of those breaths and then flying in formation. It helped and I was able to channel my nervousness and keep my composure.
#5: Agreement — The most encouraging moment was right at the start when the Ranking member basically said that we should have Paid Family and Medical Leave for all. It was just a question of how to get there. What an awesome place from which to start! During the hearing, there were many routes to that end enumerated (and I think that emulating what we’re doing in Washington is a good choice), but there’s a ton of work to negotiate and devise the actual route. I can only hope that the people in that room and those not in the room, but who has the power to act on this, will stay the course and do that hard work over whatever period of time is needed.
Fundamentally, people shouldn’t have to “win the boss lottery” as one of my fellow panelists shared and nor should they have to win the zip code lottery in order to obtain Paid Family and Medical Leave. Everyone will need care or will need to give care in their lives. At those moments, people shouldn’t have to choose between giving that care or giving up their paycheck.
So, while my feet were really cold, my heart was profoundly warmed by what I heard and experienced in that hearing. There are tangible and effective ways to do this and I’m humbled and honored to have testified about this and I look forward to helping our nation move forward on this journey. When, not if we are successful, it will grow and strengthen our middle class and help our nation be more competitive and compassionate.
