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Aide to U.S. congressmen a popular job in the U.S.

Posted May. 25, 2015 07:07,   

한국어

In Washington, aides to members of the Senate and House of Representatives are called "unselected lawmakers" since they account for a considerable part in legislature procedure in Congress. U.S. Constitution grants legislation authority to Congress and does not allow the government submit bill, a practice that exists in Korea. In this regard, in the U.S., the judgment and decision of these aides are all the more important when legislating a bill.

U.S. Congress members have more aides than Korean parliament members do. A total of 435 House members have an average of 15 aides and senators have 33 to 44 aides.

Moreover, these aides have distinctly differentiated duties. For House members, there is a senior aide that equals the secretary of the president, and also legislation aide and those for each district. Senior aide helps members` political judgment for major pending issues and is in charge of managing the direction of legislations.

Aides of senators, who are called the future presidents, exercise stronger power. Senators` aides are called de facto congressmen among major lobbyists in Washington. They strive to connect lines to senators. Aides to Republican member John McCain, who is chairman of Senate`s Armed Services Committee, get frequent calls from lobbyists hired by defense firms including Boeing and Lockheed Martin that want to set up a meeting with them.

Due to this reason, aide to congressmen is a popular job among American youth. Many aides rise to become congressmen backed up with their experience. As of the end of last year, there were 70 aide-turned congressmen. After graduating Stanford University, U.S. Ambassador to Korea Mark Lippert entered Washington as aide to former senator Tom Daschle.



ddr@donga.com