Congressman Murphy Visits Newtown Middle School

By Martha Coville

Congressman Chris Murphy introduced himself to 90 eighth grade students at Newtown Middle School as “one of the third or fourth youngest members of Congress. I really feel a responsibility to talk to schools and students” he told them during his visit to Newtown on March 20.

NMS social studies teacher Will Ryan said he first approached Congressman Murphy several months ago, when he and other teachers began planning the annual eighth grade class trip to Washington, D.C. Student Alessandra Delia said Mr Ryan insists that his classes stay current with national news. “One day each week, we do politics,” she said. “Then, another day, we do science news, and then sports and entertainment news.”

Mr Ryan said that as part of his curriculum, he had each of his students write a letter to Congressman Murphy. The congressman wrote back promptly, and Mr Ryan asked if he would have time to meet with the NMS students during their April trip. Congressman Murphy said he was not available then, but, said Mr Ryan, “proposed a school visit instead.”

Congressman Murphy is a Democrat and represents Connecticut’s Fifth District in the US House of Representatives.

Mr Ryan said his students were “so excited” when they received Congressman Murphy’s letters. He had assigned his students to write a letter asking congressman how he proposes to solve the federal deficit crisis. Congressman Murphy’s responses, he said, “were addressed to each individual student, but were more or less the same letter.”

During his visit to NMS, Congressman Murphy complimented the students on their “thoughtful letters.” He offered to talk about the national debt, and answer any further questions students might have, but he also promised to speak about any topic students wanted to discuss.

“I think the best thing we can do is to have a chat,” he said. “I’ll open up the floor” to student questions.

One theme the congressman returned to was the role young people can play in politics.

“You guys are an important part of the process,” he told the group. “Don’t let anyone tell you have to wait until you can vote, or that you have to ‘pay your dues,’ before you can run for office.” Middle school-aged students can write letters to their senators and representatives, he said, or volunteer to support issues important to them.

In his own case, Congressman Murphy said, “I got out of college, and I wanted to run for office,” because he thought he could help solve social and political problems.

He offered to run for the Connecticut state legislature, his first office, he said, because no other Democrat was willing to run against an incumbent who had “been in office for years.”

He drew a laugh, and then surprised looks from the audience when he said, “My opponent called me and said he wanted to take me out for a burger. He put his arm around me — this was the guy I’m running against — and said, ‘Chris, you’re going to have a great time in this campaign. You don’t have a chance of beating me, but you’re going to have a great time.’ And I beat him by about ten percent. It wasn’t even close. Why? Because he didn’t take me seriously, he didn’t work hard.”

He told the Newtown students that if they ever want to run for public office, they should remember that younger candidates have a “dual advantage.” Their younger faces, he said, will help distinguish them from a sea of older candidates.

“Voters remember your face,” he said. And often, he said, “Opponents underestimate you,” because of your youth.

 

Issue-Based Questions

Returning to the federal deficit, Congressman Murphy said that young teenagers, such as eighth graders, should be particularly concerned. “Young people will be the ones paying off the debt,” he said. “Especially students your age.”

The deficit, he said, is “very important to members of this Congress.” In response to student questions, he explained how interest works, and why carrying a certain amount of debt, as homeowners do with their mortgages, is not necessarily bad for the economy.

“Do other countries borrow money from the US?” one student asked. Congressman Murphy affirmed that they do. “But they’re smart about how they do it,” he said. Right now, he said, the federal government relies on borrowed money for regular expenses, such as salaries.

One student asked from whom the US borrows money. Congressman Murphy said that the US is in fact indebted to countries like Saudi Arabia, which has in the past funded terrorist activities, and to China. “When we’re sitting negotiating with China,” he said, “and they’re holding this big loan over our heads,” it creates a complicated situation.

He complimented one student for asking a thoughtful question when he asked if it is all right for foreign countries to invest in US corporations. Congressman Murphy said he supports international investments as an important part of a free market economy, but would not want foreign countries funding US defense contracting.

The congressman also complimented NMS students on their “great questions” when one student asked, “If we come out of Iraq, will the deficit go down?” Another student asked how the government spends its money.

“The biggest single budget item,” he told them, is the military. In fact, the war in Iraq is funded almost entirely on borrowed money, so withdrawing troops would definitely save money.

Mr Ryan had said his students were eager to learn who Congressman Murphy supported for president, and sure enough, the question came up early in the question and answer session. The congressman said that early in the Democrat primaries he had supported Senator Chris Dodd, because he is also from Connecticut, and that he had gone to Iowa to help campaign for him. But in Iowa, he said, he saw this “this movement coming” as Senator Barack Obama’s campaign gathered steam. Congressman Murphy says he now endorses Senator Obama because he wants someone in Washington who can “help mend the fences” between Democrats and Republicans.

As the hour drew to a close, Congressman Murphy had answered at least one questions from nearly every student who raised his or her hand. He covered topics from the environment (“probably the top priority for this Congress”) to stem cell research (“a passion of mine”) to human cloning, which he opposes. Before the students filed out of the auditorium, he invited “everyone who still has a question” to “write or e-mail” him. “When young people write to our office, we take the time to write back,” he said.

NMS science teacher Jason Adams told the congressman, after the students had left, that he wished he could get “this kind of participation in my classes,” to which the congressman said he was surprised and delighted with the level of student engagement.

“A lot of times I don’t get as many issue-based questions,” he said. “It’s about ‘what’s your favorite food?’ or ‘which Washington airport do you fly out of?’”

Mr Ryan said that Congressman Murphy’s visit was a wonderful and timely addition to his curriculum. “We’ll definitely talk about it in class,” he said. “I’m definitely interested in seeing what the students’ responses were, and if they want to write to him with other questions.”