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Hey y’all! Former hill staffer here 
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🙋🏾♂️" title="Glücklicher Mann, der eine Hand hebt (durchschnittlich dunkler Hautton)" aria-label="Emoji: Glücklicher Mann, der eine Hand hebt (durchschnittlich dunkler Hautton)"> and I don’t think this request got the hype it deserved! So I’ve decided to overshare and live tweet over tacos about how impactful this proposal that @LeaderHoyer and @RepJeffries introduced is! https://twitter.com/leaderhoyer/status/1387086533610688512">https://twitter.com/leaderhoy...
For everyone’s benefit, here is a baseline: This proposal impacts employees that help keep our country functioning through employment in Congress.
These employees serve our country in different capacities and contribute to what we know as the lawmaking process by assisting our legislators. Beyoncé has a vocal coach, Michael Jackson had a choreographer, and @AyannaPressley has a Legislative Director (that I stan).
Back to the request https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🗣" title="Silhouette eines sprechenden Kopfes" aria-label="Emoji: Silhouette eines sprechenden Kopfes">: This proposal adjusts the budget to account for inflation—10 years later https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🤯" title="Explodierender Kopf" aria-label="Emoji: Explodierender Kopf">! Revolutionary right?
In a city where a 1-bedroom averages around $2k, it’s safe to say every $ counts. Especially to those who come from disadvantaged and low-income communities like myself.
The oversharing part: I still remember the day I had to turn down an offer because I was too poor to accept. I was offered my dream job, but the cycle of poverty persisted. With a projected monthly take home pay of $1400 and an over 40-hour work schedule, I felt defeated.
Instead, I went to the private sector and came back to the Hill when I could command a (barely) livable wage. Still, I worked a weekend gig, working 30 hours every weekend just to be able to afford to do what I love—advocate for those most vulnerable in Congress.
This request by @RepJeffries and @LeaderHoyer is incredibly kind, humane, and a step in the right direction. There should be no reason that a staffer in Congress should have to choose between putting food on their table and their job.
This request also ensures that individuals like me continue to be in important rooms to advocate for those who bear the brunt of most impacts. While my story is not unique, I often found myself in rooms absent of POC and individuals knowledgeable about the impacts of poverty.
So, thank you, @RepJeffries and @LeaderHoyer! I feel seen and hopeful for our country. Equally important to the laws that are being advanced are the lives of those who help write them and the vulnerable constituents that they impact. I was both and I could not be more proud.
In the words of @AyannaPressley, “the people closest to the pain, should be the closest to the power, driving & informing the policymaking.” This is an important step in the right direction!
