Rep. Dahlkemper Sees ‘A Lot of Hope for This Country’
Photos by Caroline Bridges
Congresswoman
WSEE-35
Lindsay Perna
Boston University Washington News Service
Jan. 19, 2009
WASHINGTON—Since Rep. Kathy Dahlkemper’s swearing-in ceremony two weeks ago, the new freshman on campus has been acclimating herself to a Capitol more complex and staggering than her predecessors could imagine.
“This is not the world that most of us live in,” Dahlkemper said in an interview at a Starbucks coffee shop.
As the second Democratic woman in history from western Pennsylvania to serve in the House, this representative of the 3rd Congressional District, which encompasses the thousands of residents from Erie to Pittsburgh, spoke with confidence the day before the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama.
“People have put a lot of hope in this new president, but they’ve also put a lot of hope into this new Congress,” she said.
“I have a big learning curve, obviously, having never been in any state legislature.”
But Dahlkemper said she does not let the daunting curriculum ahead faze her.
Dahlkemper, a former dietitian, business owner and arboretum aficionado, deems herself savvy in the issues relevant to her constituents.
“It’s a people’s house, it’s not the house of career politicians,” she said, promising to stay in touch with her district by going home every possible weekend.
Dahlkemper has been assigned to the Agriculture, Small Business and Science and Technology Committees. She said she is building a new base as she “makes alliances with people with similar minds and interests.”
Adamant about following the “mandate by the people of this country” to act positively, she said she knows how it is “important to reach across the aisle. That’s one thing the American people have asked for…to work together.”
Her biggest concern lies in the compromise between adhering to her platform promise to be
fiscally conservative and voting yes on an enormous stimulus package to bail out the economy of her country, and more specifically, her district.
“We are beginning to unfortunately catch up with the rest of the country in seeing the downturn in this economy,” Dahlkemper said of her district.
“The hardest part is turning off the spigot once we open it up.”
She said she intends to step back to see “how we are spending because we are bankrupting our children’s future.”
She said she is excited by the part she and her fellow newbies will play as a “hope caucus” in the administration to come.
Her inaugural festivities range from new Vice President Joseph Biden’s Delaware state ball to the inaugural prayer service at the National Cathedral Wednesday morning.
“I am very honored to be part of the new direction of this country,” she said. “I think there is a lot of hope for this country.”
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