Congressman Jose Serrano Meets Political Science Students
Congressman Jose Serrano (D-NY) generously welcomed Herndon High Political Science students to his office on November 18th, 2008. He participated in a Q and A session and later met the students for a photo on the Capitol steps. Congressman Serrano is shown here with THE BEST intern supervisor on Capitol Hill, Nadine Berg and Jhoanne, who will be interning next semester for Congressman Serrano.
Jhoanne asked the following question (in Spanish)- Considering all the complaints about the No Child Left Behind law, do you regret your vote for that and has this improved education in your district? ANSWER- I don't regret it. If you read that bill and what it is trying to accomplish you would think it was an excellent bill. There are a few changes that need to be made regarding testing and it needs to be funded the way it was promised it would be. Also if I could advise Barack Obama on one thing, it would be that yes, you have to spend money to help this economy but you must also fund education. That will lead to more opportunities in the future.
The only thing President Bush and I have in common is that we both have English as our second language.
If a liberal has a big back yard he feels guilty if his neighbor has a smaller one. If a conservative has a big back yard he feels mad if his neighbor has a bigger one.
Mary (lower left)- In Jonathan Kozol's book Amazing Grace, he cites some terrible health statistics from your South Bronx congressional district in the 1990's. Has the situation improved? ANSWER- We have solved the problem of babies being born on crack and we are making progress in the number of children with asthma. One of the biggest causes of health problems in my district is the poor air quality. New York City is always trying to put things in my district that pollutes the air but we have been able to fight some of that.
Kirsten- If in 5 years Iraq is a stable, peaceful democracy that no longer has U.S. troops and is an ally against terrorism, will you regret your vote against the war? ANSWER- Absolutely not! We had no business being in Iraq. We have killed more than Saddam Hussein. And if you think the war has cost a lot so far just wait until all the troops come back and we pay for the physical and mental illnesses. This is like what some of you may have heard of, the Stockholm Syndrome? That is when a kidnap victim, after time has passed, falls in love with the kidnapper. That doesn't mean it was ok to kidnap her in the first place.
Melissa (center) with Hilary (left) and Samantha- You voted in favor of the "Do-Not-Call-Registry" bill. Considering so many people have complained about calls from political campaigns, would you consider banning calls like that? ANSWER- You guys ask really tough questions. No, I would not vote against that. We must do whatever we can to help the political system grow. Yes, campaign calls are annoying but it's healthy for the country. One type of call is part of our system of democracy. The other is just corporations harassing people.
Chris (with Sarah)- In a column you wrote title "Ending Puerto Rico's Colonial Status" you mentioned you have no preference regarding Puerto Rico's political status other than opposing the current colonial status. However, if you had to vote on making Puerto Rico the 51st state or vote for independence, which would you choose? ANSWER- I'm going to give you a political answer. I really don't have a preference. It is hypocritical for the United States to have colonies. Puerto Rican's in the United States would prefer statehood.
Norma (in Spanish)- As a Puerto Rican I know you participate in things like the Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York City. New York also celebrates Columbus Day for the Italians, St. Patrick's Day for the Irish and Cinco de Mayo for the Mexicans. Do you take part in these celebrations too? ANSWER- I participate in as many parades as I can. It is pride in who you are and pride in being an American. The beauty of America is that all of us are different but we are all still Americans. I love prosciutto on Columbus Day and you should see me in my sombrero on Cinco de Mayo!
Julia and Shea
Will (and James, right) - You voted against the Border Security Bill in December of 2005. The Senate version of the bill was considered a less harsh bill. Would you have supported that bill? ANSWER- I would never vote for a fence. Someone should make a cartoon of the Statue of Liberty with a fence around it. You have to understand the economic benefits of having undocumented workers here; there is no such thing as an illegal person. If you think you're paying a lot for fruits and vegetables now, wait and see how much you'll pay without undocumented workers. Let's get one thing straight. All the people that are in this country illegally are not going anywhere. They want to work and corporate American wants them here.
Julia and Jhoanne
Clockwise- Jen, Joel, Will, Brenda and Ismael
Samantha and Jhoanne
Veronica- George Steinbrenner, owner of the New York Yankees, is known as a tough owner and businessman. Have the Yankees been good neighbors and have you had any conflicts with Steinbrenner? ANSWER- I only met George Steinbrenner once. I will say this, the new president of the Yankees and Steinbrenner's sons are trying to become better neighbors than they have been. I do wish they would win like they used to. They haven't won a World Series this century.
Ryan- This election season "bipartisan" seemed to be one of the most popular words besides "change." Do you think it shows bipartisanship when the Democratic caucus may punish Joe Lieberman for supporting and campaigning for John McCain or how the Republican base ridiculed Colin Powell for supporting Barack Obama? ANSWER- Joe Lieberman was a traitor to his party. He should pay a price for that. If you don't like a candidate that's fine, sit that election out. I have. But you don't go to the opposition convention and speak against your own parties candidate. Now that does not mean I'm mean to Republicans. I'm happy work with them when I can. Why, I'm even nice to Red Sox fans!
Norma and Brenda
Aaron (and Fairuz)- Looking
back at how history unfolded, are there any votes you would have changed?
ANSWER- One concerned Teri Schivo. This should not have gone to Congress in the
first place. It was one time where I let my faith decide how I should vote
and my family influenced me on that. As soon as I voted I thought I had made a terrible mistake. But
the votes I’m most proud of are my votes against the
A chilly Lida
Carrie- Mr. Graney showed us a video of House members rallying around President Clinton after the House voted to impeach Clinton. In that video we saw you talking for a few minutes with President and Mrs. Clinton. Would you mind sharing what those conversations were like? ANSWER- President Clinton's behavior was uncalled for and not recommended. The question however was, were his actions impeachable? If he had sold secrets to the Russians or something like that, that would be impeachable. The fact that he had an affair was a technicality and no one would openly admit to saying "yes" when asked something like that. I think Clinton could have been known as a great president but he will always be remembered for that. Now here's something. Richard Nixon, if he did not have Watergate, would have gone down as a great president too. When I was on the lawn with the Clinton's the president said to me "I'll never forget that you were the first in the northeast to campaign with me, when no one else was for me, you were for me. Thanks for being with me now." I spotted something in Clinton that made me think he could be a great president.
Analisa- In the book "Jose Serrano- A Political Icon by Carlos Velasquez" you were quoted as saying "...undocumented immigrants take jobs most Americans won't take." As we are moving into more difficult times with rising unemployment, do you think there are still jobs most Americans would not take? ANSWER- Most Americans still won't take jobs that most immigrants perform, such as washing dishes, raking leaves, cleaning bed pans or some construction jobs. The economy would have to hit rock bottom before most American would consider doing jobs like this.
Jennifer- As a Catholic, did you find it hard to vote against physician-assisted suicide and in a larger sense, what role does religion play in how you vote? ANSWER- I believe religion should be private. I should not make it have an impact on other people. But I do think that I follow my Catholic faith in trying to help the poor get a bigger piece of the pie. Jesus did not ask people if they were gay or not.
Shea- Your district includes Yankee Stadium, Fordham University, Little Italy and you're right next door to the Bronx Zoo. Yet whenever anyone in the media mentions your district they always say "the poorest congressional district in the nation." Does that bother you? ANSWER- Father John Grange, who runs a church in my district was asked by me once 'Would you like to be a priest in a wealthy area?' and he said 'No. This is what I do." That is what I think too. This is what I am supposed to do. It's frustrating when I see what my people are going through but I fight for them every day. This is what I am supposed to do. I'd rather spend time in a church basement with my constituents than at some fancy gathering in Beverly Hills. I love to walk outside my apartment building and just talk to the people.
Carrie being told that Speaker Pelosi is his leader, not boss.
Because Chris voted most often with Congressman Serrano as we debated and voted on bills Serrano voted on, Chris presented HHS gear to Nadine and Congressman Serrano.
