NMAL Class Goes to Washington!

 

Just before the cherry blossoms were in full bloom, myself along with the rest of the NMAL class 15 group traveled to Washington D.C.  The group got a good introduction of government leadership in February with a trip to our state capital in Sante Fe, NM.  However, we took things to the highest level with the trip to D.C.

My family had had some personal experience with how D.C. worked from a bureaucratic vantage point years ago.  My father had been appointed by President Ronald Regan to be the Director of the Office of Service Mining within the Department of Interior. One goal for me with this trip was to see how things may have changed from an adult perspective.  The visit made me realized how even more layers have been added through either policy or regulation, just to get something done.  I know this was my father’s primary frustration in his short tenure in D.C.

By their own admission, these policies and regulations have slowed progress significantly.  Either through the discussions with the USDA folks, or Civil Office of Engineers, important tasks are rarely achieved due to bureaucratic red tape.  All of our agency and legislator visits made me realize just how big our federal government is.  During the tour of the original senate chambers, it seemed that this was not the intent of our founding fathers.

 

During this trip, we were given the opportunity to meet our state representatives and senators. Though all of our visits with legislators were similar, I found it interesting to see the different dynamic each meeting brought.  The meetings with Hinrich, Vasquez, and Stansbury’s offices left me with an impression that New Mexico Agriculture is not their priority, as they had their aids take care of the meetings; even though we were New Mexico citizens in their office voicing concerns.   The tone of those meetings were flat and impersonal. Conversely Senator Lujan took time out his busy schedule to sit down with us in person. That simple gesture offered value and more open discussion.  I believe this meeting in particular, at least in appearance, had the most impact.  The fact he is willing to also sit on the nation’s Ag Committee demonstrates his sincere interest in the 2^nd greatest contributor to New Mexico’s economy.

I did come to appreciate how much it takes to run a country as complex as ours, but in business, successful companies learn to streamline, making doing business easier.  Both state and federal governments could learn from this model, while still achieving the goals of our country.

Finally, on a cold drizzly day, I had the great privilege to assist in placing a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier at the Arlington Cemetery.  This powerful ceremony, the commitment of the tomb’s guards, and the shear expanse of tombstones across many acres of land should remind us all that our freedom is not free.