Mary-Charlotte Domandi:
How was your, this is basically your first day at work. And actually one of the things I wanted to ask you was, I imagine that a lot of what you’re doing will be obviously learning on the job, but is there like a kind of orientation or education that you get at the beginning with the other people who are starting?
Teresa Leger Fernandez:
Yes, but we did that in November and December. So there were two weeks, one week before Thanksgiving and then one week after Thanksgiving, where we did an orientation where we actually came to DC. Because of COVID a lot of it was through zoom, but some of it was, like, the first night Steny Hoyer met us and he took us on a tour of the Capitol and everybody, both Democrats and Republicans, and then we ended up splitting up, but we began as all of us together and, you know, took us to the floor of the Senate. And, you know, we talked about the fact that they were, you know, each Senate desk gets passed down from one to another, you know, nothing like that in the house, the house floor it’s just, there’s a bunch of seats and you sit wherever you can wherever you want. But what I loved, in fact, I talked a lot to different people that they about cause I love this image. We sat there in the house floor during orientation and you know, they shared about some of the things that have been done, right. And you’re sitting in the people’s house; if somebody dies or if somebody becomes, you know, secretary of the interior—yay, go Deb—the governor doesn’t name a replacement. The only people who occupied the people’s house are those who get elected by the people. So they went through and they talked about some of the historic things that were there. And it really, I decided that being in Congress is sort of like being a time traveler, because you work in a place of such history, right? Where such historic decisions were made from, you know, it’s the hundred years of the 19th amendment, right, which had to happen there as in, you know, just go through the histories right.
President Lincoln was at one time a Congressperson who served a term the house. He didn’t get reelected, partly because he opposed the Mexican American war, right? So the man did not like war. But he is actually—only people who’ve served in the Congress can actually have busts or something in some of the places, and because he’s a president who served in Congress, he’s there. But you were there among history. You’re sitting in history and yet you’re making decisions about what our future will look like, and what kind of future we’ll have. Will we have a future where our planet looks anything like it does now? Will we have a future where we have water grueling and those beautiful streams of ours in New Mexico? Will we have a future where our children are actually adequately educated? Or will our future look a lot different than that?
Right? And so we were kind of time-traveling and that we are sitting in this place of history, making decisions about our future, and it really feels like that. And so it felt like again today. So I actually did my little quip about us being time travelers to others, but that first hit me, that person I have the first, the first night of orientation, where Steny Hoyer, the majority floor leader, took us on this tour. But at that orientation is where, you know, those two weeks is where we learn a lot of basics about where things are. But really until you start doing it, it doesn’t really, you know, somebody can tell you how to ride a bike, but until you actually get on the bike, you don’t really know.
MCD:
Yeah. It’s like a friend of mine is a nurse and she said, your education is only good as good as your clinical experience. It’s same thing with everything. Are you, do you feel like you’re an American history buff or does your work as an attorney, you know, give you that because of all the cases and historical precedents and things like that?
TLF:
No, I mean, that’s something that, I went to high school at a time when, you know, we were really trying to do a lot of catch-up in Las Vegas, New Mexico. New Mexico is still lagging. But when I went to high school, it was a very, very difficult time in our education system there. And so I didn’t have a great educational background. And when you do a lot of that history stuff, so I feel like I missed a lot of stuff. But I love history because you know, history is what informs what we do today. You know, I was on Obama’s cultural historic preservation council because I think that like how we approach history and even how we approach understanding what our history is, really does define who we are now and what we’re going to do in the future. So I’m not like a historical buff, like I’ve read all the books and everything like that, but I, I honor the fact that history shapes us and therefore we need to be really honest about it.
You know, my son and I went and sat in the rotunda while we were waiting between votes, because you know, we’re voting in sections to try and keep us safe and there were a whole bunch of procedural votes. Once again, the Republicans trying to stop us from being able to actually vote on the actual matter that was at hand. And so we sat there, you know, and we sat and we were looking, cause they’re painted up til before world war one, because it’s the Wright brothers is the last thing on the frieze. And you’re looking at that and you’re saying, wow, well, you know, we need to print a frieze that goes from, you know, 1903 to the present. And we started talking about what would be on that frieze, you know, going around that mural, and how it would be so much different today to agree on what should be in that mural.
And then even when we sat down, he said, I want to sit so that we are looking at the founding of the American constitution and the American history and not at the colonization. Cause that’s all wrong. Right. So rather than looking back at, you know, Plymouth rock and the surrender of the Indians and all of that stuff, which we just know is so wrong, let’s just look at American history. We’ll look at George Washington, you know, and Thomas Jefferson, those big paintings, because even in that history, it’s how you tell the history, right? Half of those paintings, we know, leave out a big part of what our history truly is.
MCD:
You just mentioned that you had some votes and again, the Republican party was trying to not have those votes. I mean, I thought today was just like really basic things like passing rules and stuff like that.
TLF:
Yeah. They were basic things that passing rules. But you know, I think that when one side decides that it’s about obstruction versus about construction, I probably took six votes today before we ever voted on the rules package. And they didn’t like the rules package for different things. I mean, what I loved about the rules package today and what I focused on, it’s the package that allows you to vote by proxy, which is about COVID. They did change the motion to recommit, which had been used as like an “I gotcha.” And so they said, okay, you can recommit a bill, but they’re not gonna like say all kinds of things and that you can then use in a television ad against somebody. But really the more important things about it is they did the pronouns, so you’re not, it’s not always “he,” cause it’s not always “he” anymore.
You know? So things like that. And they didn’t like that. But what I focused on about the, you know, yes, those rules are important so we can work in COVID and all those good things. But what I liked is there are three select committees that are like saying, okay, these aren’t the regular standing committees, but we have an emergency and urgency that we have to address, and the three select committees are a select committee on the climate, a select committee on COVID, and a new select committee on inequity. So that shows you that the speaker, the Democrats, the caucus say it is important that we actually focus on these issues and that’s what these select committees will do.
MCD:
And what did those committees then do? Do they come up with legislation?
TLF:
Like if you look at the select committee on climate has a really comprehensive plan that they came up with that looked at what was happening with regards to the climate. What were the issues and what do we need to do about it that then bills can come out of that. Because we have to recognize that climate is something that needs to be addressed in the ag committee; it needs to be addressed in the energy committee; it needs to be addressed and ed and labor—you know, it needs to be addressed in lots of different committees. And so what the select committee is able to do is take the comprehensive view, put it together. and then for passage and introduction of bills, they’ll go to each of the committees, but that gives you the laser focus and the comprehensive focus that you need to address these big things.
MCD:
So it’s almost like let’s lay out the problem in a clear way so that we can solve it.
TLF:
Let’s lay out the problem and the potential solutions so we can solve it, and then give the different pieces to where they need to go.
MCD:
So news of the day, president Trump’s phone call to the secretary of state of Georgia, basically asking him to change the results of the presidential election. How are you and Democratic leaders in the House responding to this? Is this sort of part of your day at all?
TLF:
Yeah, it’s come up. I mean, there are some responses and some letters going out by some of the more seasoned legislators who have oversight on these issues that we’re looking at and deciding whether we’ll join. My big issue—you know, I have lots of issues I care about and that I’ve worked about—you know, democracy is fundamental. That’s why I’ve dedicated decades of my life to democracy issues. And that is such an attack on democracy. Everything we’re dealing with this last week, these last few weeks of the Trump administration, are true attacks on our democracy. That is an attack on our democracy. That’s the kind of thing dictators do and authoritarian governments do, it’s not the kind of thing democratically elected presidents do. What we’re going to deal with on Wednesday is, you know, the fact that we have Congresspeople, Republicans who are going to actually take the position that they should decide what happens, like who was elected.
TLF:
I mean, that is so against what democracy is. And so what we’re seeing is a bunch of that coming out and people were responding appropriately. Our role on Wednesday, that’s really where we have a role, an immediate role, is to vote this very procedural thing, to accept the votes and declare the presidency. I mean, that’s what we’re doing. It’s simple. What he did is clearly unethical. It’s a violation of the spirit of democracy. There were issues as to whether or not you would want to criminally prosecute it or whether you can win that, because those are problems, but we must describe it as what it is, which is on affront on our democracy. It’s authoritarian, it’s dictatorial. Anybody who believes in our constitution should be angry. Like if you are a Patriot. You can not support that. If a Patriot means I love my constitution, I love my nation, I love my democracy, you need to say that’s wrong.
MCD:
I wanted to, I am interested in how Congress is responding to the pandemic in terms of keeping you guys, you know, members of Congress and the different staff members and workers and all the buildings safe and how you guys are under those circumstances, getting to know each other and, and meeting despite all of this.
TLF:
You know, the thing is, is like you will have people, uh, I’m covering my face right now. Cause you know, simulating the mask, you know, I’m kind of easy to identify because there’s just a few, you know, of us compared to the 400 of the rest of them.
MCD:
You mean females?
TLF:
Females, and new congresspeople. There’s only, I forgot is it 16 of us, new Democrats. And there is a majority of us are women of the new Democrats. And there is actually more women Republicans than there have ever been—they’re up to a whopping 25 or something, and we’re 89. But you know, we only seven or eight women. So it’s kind of easy to identify us new ones. And then that come up and talk to you and you’re going, who are you? Who are you? Right. Cause all you see is their eyes and you almost have to like, remember like how they wear their hair or how they walk.
So it really is interfering, but we’re all wearing masks. We are keeping social distance, you know, during this swearing in there was a little bit less social distance. Cause I think there was just, you know, as a little more chaotic than it should have been. But generally people are trying to take care of each other. And it just means that all of those interactions take awhile. Right? You were shouting at each other through those masks. Cause you can’t hear us. We only go to vote in groups of seven. You might say hello to a few people as you’re going in or going out, but then you leave. And then that way the next group comes, and so in a place that can hold, you know, you’ve seen it for the state of union. It can hold lots of people, but you know, 500 people, you supposedly only have 70 people at a time. But it does really interfere with the ability to connect because you don’t see each other, but you know, people will say, “Hey Leger Fernandez.”
It’s like, yes, or you’ll recognize them and it’s like “Trone? Are you Trone?” And then you say, Oh, I want to work on—like today I went to go vote, and one of the representatives who really works a lot on mental health issues and addiction issues, and you know, I told him about the two brothers I lost to mental health and addiction, and that this was something I want to work on. This is my experience. This is a big issue in Northern New Mexico. And so by the time I got back to the office, I told my leg staff, he told his leg staff, we were talking. So you want to find those times and that’s what we’re missing. Right. It just so happened he was voting in the same time and I had to say hello to him. And I was like, Oh, this is what you care about. Right. And so we’re, hopefully I’ll be able to work with some bills with him on that.
MCD:
And like everything else in life, that’s where the action is—those little chance encounters that then turn into a relationship or a working group or whatever.
TLF:
Yeah. No. And, and so, so it’s really, it is unfortunate that that can’t happen more fluidly.
MCD:
Anything else that you’ve been thinking about?
TLF:
No. No. I mean, no. I mean, I think about so many things, but right now I’m thinking about dinner. So yeah, because the days are long. Like you get started and you eat kind of on the run. And so yeah, I’m going to go have dinner with my two sons who are still here who have been incredibly patient during this whole thing. So we’re going to go have dinner together, before they have to go back.
MCD:
Buen provecho.
TLF:
Gracias. Adios.
