In my internship at the Natural Resources and Environment division of the Government Accountability Office (GAO), I learned about what happens to a law after its enactment, particularly the way in which Congress keeps agencies accountable in their administration and enforcement of congressional policies. The GAO is the investigative arm of Congress, which conducts general audits of federal agencies and performs policy analysis wherever a federal dollar may go. I worked on a congressional request for Senator Inhofe (R-OK) and Senator Crapo (R-ID), both members of the Senate Environment and Public Works committee. The request asked for a cumulative cost estimate of federal water requirements (under the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act) to local communities. In working on this request, I was responsible for gathering and analyzing the major requirements that local communities are subject to (proposed and final rules promulgated under EPA) and also gathering and analyzing the current cost studies (EPA, CBO, and others) to determine if it would be possible to answer the request.
While working at the GAO, I had two objectives: first, understand how the GAO and the world of water policy and water costs is developed; and second, determine how I would contribute the most to the public good as a policy analyst. The access I received at the GAO was unprecedented for an undergraduate because I was speaking on equal terms with heads of divisions within the Executive and heads of advocacy departments representing the community of water policy. In my work, I gave a presentation in front of state executive directors and the executive director of the National Rural Water Association (which serves over 19,000 utilities across the country) recruiting their help for a possible drinking water survey. Through this presentation, I deepened my appreciation for rural America and the impact that the federal government has on small towns (especially drinking water, storm water, and wastewater regulation). As a policy analyst, I heard stories of how federal dollars did not meet the costs of associated with federal mandates, which negatively impacted small communities. Although requirements benefited the community, they placed an unfair burden on the municipality. As I learned more about federal water quality policy, I began to understand that the work within the GAO was an avenue in which I could do good work by analyzing federal policy and making sure its administration and enforcement met congressional requirements. Nevertheless, I knew that as a policy analyst, I would not be able to make the final deciding step: providing assurances to those rural communities. That point is what School House Rock does not teach you.
Me & Mark Braza (methodologist at GAO)
Thanks to the great team at the GAO. Alyssa Hundrup, Laura Gatz, Mark Braza, Merzahd Nadji, Ellen Crocker, and John Stephenson. These people make me glad that they're working for a better tomorrow. Craziest thing is that Alyssa's husband- Wyatt, came from Lewiston, ID (the town connected to my girlfriend's town of Clarkston, WA). Best of luck to them and their baby son, Martin. Now, it's back to school...
Websites (because this post is not as lame as the last one, but is still lame) http://www.peepresearch.org" target="_top">Marshmallow Peep Research- This is a wonderful website (taken from Julia Darcey's Facebook profile). McSweeney's- Bohemian literary website, where people just... ahh... um... submit little literary didleys (and update frequently). Crazy Thoughts- just a list of life's unanswered and absurd questions