It has been an exciting few months in Washington, DC! As this year’s Biophysical Society Congressional Fellow, I joined the office of Congressman Bill Foster (IL-11) at the end of September, after the AAAS Fellows orientation and the Congressional Fellows placement process.
Congressman Foster, a physicist who formerly worked at Fermilab, is uniquely positioned to comment on science issues and the importance of evidence-based policy. I work on a broad range of topics that I’m excited about: education; science, including genetic engineering and the House Science Committee; the R&D caucus, of which Representative Foster is a co-chair; and energy and the environment.
My experience as a BPS Congressional Fellow has been amazing so far. It’s hard to describe a “typical” day, but at any given moment I could be discussing ideas about how to solve a problem that’s come to our attention, writing a memo about legislation the Congressman might want to cosponsor or a letter to consider signing, meeting with constituents, preparing questions for a Science Committee hearing, planning an R&D caucus briefing, reaching out to Congressional colleagues or other stakeholders about projects we’re working on, or scanning through the news to follow issues in my portfolio.
A few weeks into the fellowship, I was able to coordinate a letter that Representative Foster led to Administrator Pruitt expressing concern about the new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Science Advisory Board rules that prohibit EPA grant-holders from serving in an advisory capacity. Since then, I’ve worked on other letters and legislation that our office is leading, including bills about student financial aid that we hope to offer as amendments to the Higher Education Act reauthorization. I am also developing new legislation, including a bill intended to expand federal employees’ access to scientific literature.
My experience to date in science policy has incorporated some of my favorite aspects of academia:
• Learning new things every day and keeping up on the latest developments in the field;
• Aiming to solve complex problems;
• Conferences and other social events that facilitate sharing ideas;
• Interacting with the public and seeing the impact of science through outreach activities; and
• Writing and presenting.
I am fortunate to be working alongside experienced staff who know the policy and political aspects of issues that come across my desk. I’ve learned so much about how the government operates, and it has been great to bring some of that back to my research colleagues who have been curious about what’s happening on the Hill. The Biophysical Society Congressional Fellowship program has already been an incredible experience for me and I’m looking forward to what’s ahead!
—Yasmeen Hussain
BPS 2017–18 Congressional Fellow