Rep Wasserman Speaks To Middle School Students

About Government And Tragedy

By Tanjua Damon

Eighth grade students at Newtown Middle School hosted a visit by Republican State Representative Julia Wasserman who spoke to them about government. She also addressed some issues related to the September 11 terrorist attacks.

“I’m very happy to been here,” Rep. Wasserman said. “It’s always a pleasure to meet with you and exchange ideas with you.”

She read at letter from First Lady Laura Bush that addressed the importance of America’s children in the wake of what the nation is dealing with after being attacked by terrorists.

Rep Wasserman also spoke to the students about the government and what legislators do for the people they represent. She explained that legislators write laws, create a budget, and serve their constituents.

“We start at eight or nine in the morning during session that starts in January and ends in June,” Rep Wasserman said. “One of the major tasks is that we write laws, or commonly called creating legislation. Sometimes it is a complicated, nasty business. Everyone gets a turn.

“Ideas for legislation comes from various sources in a community,” she said. Private individuals come up with ideas as well as local administrators, labor unions, and special interest groups.

“My colleagues come in each year and we get thousands of requests for legislation,” Rep Wasserman said.

The annual budget is another issue that legislators deal with trying to fund the necessary programs that best suit the public.

“Appropriating funds; it’s a very lengthy tedious process when we’re doing it, in contrast to what you do here,” Rep Wasserman said. “We hold public hearings. We have them to try to find out what people need. We try to lower everybody’s taxes.”

Rep Wasserman has 25,000 constituents in her district, which is the 106th, covering parts of Newtown and Bethel. She encouraged the students to get involved when they are able to vote.

“That keeps us extremely busy,” she said. “I hope that when you become of voting age you are interested in participating. I have to work as the intermediary often between the town and the state.

“I often have to get information for you,” Rep Wasserman continued. “The kinds of questions I get from constituents vary a great deal.”

Rep Wasserman referred to President George W. Bush’s speech that he gave during a joint session of Congress September 20 in which he created a new cabinet position of the Office of Homeland Security.

“Some of the proposals the president made [in his speech] are going to need action,” Rep Wasserman said. “It’s up to Washington to change the law because we are creating a new cabinet position.”

She also told the students that Governor Rowland plans to provide money to children who have lost a parent from the tragedy so that they can have tuition for college, as well as about safety measures that are being discussed and being put in place to help secure the airports and provide better safety for passengers.

There was a short question and answer period for the eighth graders who asked about the budget and things that are being done by the government to require more secure safety standards.

“More state-of-the-art-equipment. We have to pursue those,” she said. “If it means we have to budget more money, that’s what we’ll have to do.”