Learning Curve: The new players in Congress

Every two years, the period between the November election and when the new Congress begins is often the busiest swath of time for covering Congress.

It's time-consuming. It's a challenge distinguishing some rookies from one another. Even getting the names and pronunciations right.

It's quite a learning curve.

This process intensifies during the holidays. It's the final ramp-up to the launch of things on January 3.

But the real adventure is learning all of the new House Members.

The House is an enormous place. 435 people. Some new faces stand out in the House. But many are obscure. And it's especially hard to learn some of them if they didn't encounter a competitive race or were relative unknowns.

The House begins with 62 new Members plus non-voting delegates on Friday. My mission is to learn them all. 

My daily workout routine is a good opportunity for this. After all, the pace of Congress is kind of like a treadmill. But for my purposes, learning the freshman class is more like an elliptical. I go through the list of faces and names over and over again - as my legs churn each morning. I rotate through the entire House roster at least twice. I then carry the list to the stationary bike and study more there.

I try to meet as many Members of the incoming freshman class as possible. But as I wrote earlier, bandwidth is limited. The freshmen all descend on the Capitol complex during this zany period after the election for orientation. There just aren't enough minutes in the day.

But I was grabbing a drink with a good friend at The Monocle, a legendary Capitol Hill watering hole, a few weeks ago. I saw former Sen. Begich walk in - but couldn't get his attention to say hello. A few moments later, the Congressman-elect walked by. I grabbed him by the arm, introduced myself and gave him a business card. 

Trust me: it is easier to memorize the freshman class if you meet members in person. And I was proud of myself for being able to pick out Rep.-elect Begich in a crowd - based on my studies.

I spent a little time chatting with Reps.-elect Julie Fedorchak, R-N.D., and Dave Taylor, R-Ohio. So I'm confident in knowing those members.

Then there are people who left Congress - and are back. Such is the case with former Reps. Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind., and Cleo Fields, D-La. Stutzman served in Congress just a few years ago and is returning. Fields served in the House nearly three decades ago in the 1990s when he was in his thirties.

I mentioned delegates a bit earlier.

Del.-elect Kimberlyn King-Hinds, R-Northern Mariana Islands, comes to Washington as a freshman in a few days. She succeeds retiring Del. Kilili Sablan, D-Northern Mariana Islands. I have not met King-Hinds yet. But multiple photos passed around show her wearing a tropical floral headpiece. I don't know if that's what King-Hinds wears all the time. But such apparel would make it easier to recognize King-Hinds.

For instance, the signature cowboy hat worn by Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., makes her stand out. 

Then there are the pronunciations. Not every name is as easy as Rep.-elect Tim Moore, R-N.C., or Rep.-elect Gabe Evans, R-Colo. Try Rep.-elect Suhas Subramanyam, D-Va. It's pronounced soo-bruh-MAHN-yum. The surname of Rep.-elect Abe Hamadeh, R-Ariz., is pronounced HAMM-uh-day. And the aforementioned Julie Fedorchak says her last name fedd-ORR-check. 

So, Schmelz stumped me there.

But that's the learning process. And even though I didn't know Dexter then, you can bet I won't forget her now.

And look forward to meeting her. I have known her predecessor for years. 

But frankly, you don't really learn the Members by studying a book. You learn them by seeing them in the hall. Chatting with them in the Speaker's Lobby. Interacting with them in interviews. Seeing how they do in hearings. You watch how they handle themselves on the floor.

And the best way to learn them?

Observing how they vote and perform as a Member of Congress.