We get sworn into Congress tomorrow. Here's the latest on the office lottery, committee assignments, and fax machines.

I'll be sworn into Congress tomorrow. Here's what is keeping our team busy right now.

First, get the D.C. office ready.

We’ve been told that people will start showing up, calling, emailing, and even faxing (!!!) the moment after we’re sworn in, so that’s top priority.

This is made more complicated by the fact that I’m not allowed to use my office until 9am on January 3rd - three hours before we’re sworn in.

But at least I know which office it will be.

That was settled recently by the office lottery: a century-old tradition in which numbers are pulled from an old mahogany box to determine the order in which freshman members will pick from the open offices.

Out of 74 new members, we pulled 40. Not great, not terrible.

Here’s the funny part: All the freshman offices are pretty much the same.

Freshman members of Congress get the offices that more senior members don’t want and they’re all pretty similar in terms of size and location. But that doesn’t stop folks from turning office selection into a competitive process - it’s just a competition where everyone gets basically the same prize.

That said, the office lottery is one of the only truly bipartisan activities we’ve had so far, so it’s probably best to make the most of it.

The office we received is in the Longworth building. It had belonged to a New Jersey Democrat who wasn’t re-elected.

Even though I’m not allowed in, as we speak our office is being outfitted with furniture, communications gear, and office supplies to make sure we’re open for business as of noon on January 3rd.

The Longworth building, in which most of the freshmen members will have their office.

Second, receive committee assignments.

Which committees I get is much, much more important than which office I get.

You get two committees. Naturally, there’s a committee that exists to assign people to the committees. It’s called the Steering and Policy Committee and there are about 70 members on it.

The way this works is that I write a letter to the Steering and Policy Committee in which I say, “Hi, I’m Jeff Jackson and very respectfully I think I’d do a good job on X and Y committees, but if I can’t have Y then I’d appreciate Z.”

When writing the letter, you have to keep two things in mind:

First, which committees would let you serve your constituents the best, given the economic and demographic makeup of your district.

Second, which committees you actually have a chance of getting.

They tell you up front which committees that you, as a freshman member, have a near-zero percent chance of getting. There are a handful, including Appropriations, Rules, and Ways and Means.

Then there are the committees that aren’t impossible for you to get, but would be a reach - like Armed Services.

Then there are the committees you can be pretty confident you’ll get if you ask for them.

So the way you structure your request is to be realistically ambitious - it’s ok to ask for something you might not get, but just give them an alternative in case you don’t get it.

They do consider your professional background when making appointments, so given my military background I’ve got a decent chance of being appointed to one of the military/veteran committees, but beyond that it would be unwise for me to make any predictions.

Third, get our two district offices ready.

The 14th district includes portions of two counties, so we’re going to have an office in each of them. The process of leasing the space is a back-and-forth between the owners of the space and congressional counsel, which has to approve any contracts.

We’ve found our Gaston County space, and hopefully we’ll have confirmation on our Mecklenburg County space in the next few days. Then we expedite the process of getting furniture and communication gear installed. (Apparently these offices will need fax capability as well, which is just deeply strange to me.)

That’s the latest. Tomorrow will be a big day for our family. We drove in last night and all five of us are staying in the very small apartment near the Capitol I’ve rented. As I type this, my wife is planning out the day with the kids, starting with a trip to the Lincoln Memorial and then (probably) the Air and Space Museum.

Next week, I should have some interesting stories about the swearing-in process - not to mention the Speaker election, which will follow immediately after we’re sworn in.

Best,
Jeff Jackson