AUDIOLOGY ADVOCATE | Congressional Swearing-In Day—the 116th Congress Begins

By Adam Finkel

This article is a part of the March/April 2019, Volume 31, Number 2, Audiology Today issue.

On January 3, 2019, the 116th Congress officially was sworn in. Having worked in Washington, DC, for a number of years, when Congress is inaugurated is one of my favorite days of the year. It is a day filled with celebration as the Capitol and surrounding buildings are filled with members of Congress and their families, congressional staffers, campaign staffers, constituents, and lobbyists. With the Democrats winning 40 more seats in the House and Nancy Pelosi becoming speaker, the celebrations were more raucous on the Democratic side, while the Republican side was a bit more subdued as their members realized that their priorities would be taking a backseat for at least two years.

That morning, I met up with a number of fellow lobbyists who work for other provider organizations belonging to the Patients’ Access to Responsible Care Alliance (PARCA). PARCA is a coalition of organizations representing the interests of non-MD/DO health-care providers, including the American Optometric Association, American Nurses Association, American Nurse Practitioners Association, American Speech–Language–Hearing Association, America Chiropractors Association, and several more. After splitting into smaller groups, our organizations jointly traveled to offices of returning and new members of Congress to congratulate them on being sworn in.