WASHINGTON -- Two Arkansas high school students were selected to serve as U.S. Senate pages beginning in September.
Cogan Wade, 16, of Little Rock and Anthony Bennett, 16, of Ashdown are among 30 juniors from across the country picked to serve as messengers within the Senate chamber during the fall semester.
Pages prepare the Senate chamber for daily business by distributing documents to senators' desks and assisting in the cloakrooms and chambers. While Congress is in session, they sit near the dais waiting to help the lawmakers.
Senators can recommend teens for the program, but party leaders pick who attends, with 16 spots reserved for the majority party and 14 for the minority party, according to a 2013 Congressional Research Service report on the program. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., picked Wade. Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., picked Bennett.
Wade, an Episcopal Collegiate School student, said he considers himself fiscally conservative and socially liberal but expects the months in Washington will help shape his views.
"I definitely have my own political views, but I don't think that is really my reason for going," Wade said. "I'm sure that seeing different legislation go through, opinions about that will definitely form. The prime goal is just for me to get a larger perception of how everything works."
He said he isn't sure yet whether he wants to pursue a political career.
"I have a lot of time to think about what I want to do with my life, but right now it's definitely on the table," Wade said.
Bennett, a Ashdown High School student, said it is "still too early" to define his politics, but said he is vice president of his high school chapter of Young Democrats of Arkansas.
He said a social studies teacher inspired his interest in politics about four or five years ago.
Bennett said he is excited to get "firsthand experience on Capitol Hill, an opportunity to see the political process and how it actually works."
The Arkansans will attend classes with the other pages early in the morning before the Senate meets and will live on Capitol Hill near the Hart Senate Office Building.
The Senate page program began in 1820. The House page program was created in 1842. It ended in 2011.
IN THE DISTRICT
U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark., is scheduled to hold two town hall-style meetings Thursday, his staff said.
From 10 to 11:30 a.m., he will be at Riordan Hall, 3 Riordan Drive in Bella Vista, and from 2 to 3:30 p.m., he will be at the Pea Ridge Fire Department, 293 S. Curtis Ave. in Pea Ridge.
Staff members for U.S. Rep. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., plan to focus on veterans issues at events Sept. 4.
They are scheduled to be at the Miller County Courthouse at 400 Laurel St. in Texarkana at 9:30 a.m.; the Lafayette County Courthouse at 1 Courthouse Square in Lewisville at 12:30 p.m.; and the Stamps City Hall at 207 E. Antigo St. in Stamps at 2:30 p.m.
Cotton was scheduled to have events Saturday for his U.S. Senate campaign in El Dorado, Benton, Conway and Searcy, staff said.
On Monday, Pryor traveled to Razorback Concrete in West Memphis to talk with Crittenden County business and community leaders. He also toured Nucor Steel in Blytheville, staff said.
On Friday, Pryor spoke at the Little Rock Job Corps Commencement Ceremony in Little Rock.
On Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Tim Griffin, R-Ark., spoke at the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce/Associated Industries of Arkansas in Little Rock about new Environmental Protection Agency rules on carbon emissions for power plants. He also spoke at the Little Rock Port Authority dedication and opening of the Arkansas River Resource Center.
On Thursday, U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Ark., hosted a screening at Arkansas State University of Farmland, a movie about young people in agriculture, staff said.
The congressman also toured farms in the 1st District last week including peanut farms in Randolph County.
FUNDRAISERS
Boozman is scheduled to host a fundraiser barbecue in Little Rock on Sept. 4. The $60 per person event at Next Level Events at 1400 W. Markham St. is from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
The Democratic Party of Arkansas has scheduled a fundraiser for 4th District Democratic candidate James Lee Witt from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Monday at the South on Main restaurant in Little Rock, according to its website.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairman Michael Bennet are scheduled to host a $10,000 per ticket fundraiser for the Democratic Women's Senate Network at Clinton's Washington, D.C., home on Sept. 9, according to a Politico article.
STAFF CHANGE
On Aug. 18, former KNWA Today co-anchor J.R. Davis became the communications director for Republican gubernatorial candidate Asa Hutchinson. Campaign Policy Director Christian Olson has filled the position since January and will continue as policy director, according a campaign news release.
Davis spent the last two years as morning anchor and political reporter for the Fayetteville station. He previously served as Womack's communications director.
Planning to visit the nation's capital? Know something happening in Washington, D.C.? Contact us at (202) 662-7690 or [email protected].
SundayMonday on 08/24/2014