Why Goat Aren't Mowing The Lawn at Capitol Hill and Other Answers from Lawmakers

My fellow students in the Semester in Washington Journalism Program have gotten to create video tributes to Michael Jackson, cover summer fashion and go to photoshoots. But none of them have had the pleasure of asking Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) why Congress hasn’t hired goats to mow the lawns at Capitol Hill. Google’s doing it, but judging by his response, I don’t think Waxman is going to be championing the idea. Not only did he decline to answer the question, he also asked one of my coworkers at Capitol News Connection why I was asking idiotic questions.

The questions come from CNC’s website, www.askyourlawmaker.com. Users submit questions and vote on other questions. Reporters and interns ask the questions that get the most votes. Later during the summer, I got to ask Rep. Lee Terry (R-NE) why we haven't legalize marijuana. Fortunately, he was more polite than Rep. Waxman and didn't treat me like some sort of pothead.

In addition to running that website, CNC also covers Capitol Hill for radio stations across the country. Stations from different states submit requests for stories about Congressional business relevant to their states. Then we report, write and track the stories. This allows stations that don’t have a bureau in Washington D.C. to get news from Capitol Hill.

Take a look at CNC’s website, and the Ask Your Lawmaker site. You can hear me ask Waxman about goats mowing the lawn and also submit your own questions or vote on existing questions.

Turn on yoru speaklers if you just want to hear Rep. Waxman comments or more informative answers from Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA). Also, if you want to find out why Rep. Terry is not in favor of legalizing marijuana take a look at this article and let me know what you think!