A proud moment in a mother’s life is whenever her child does well. This time, the President of the United States was there to agree with her.
Barbara Houghtaling, of Rileyville, was with her son Ed Lorenzen at the White House, Wednesday, March 3. They weren’t on a public tour. The President gets a lot of unexpected visitors traipsing through. This time, President Barack Obama was expecting company, and greeted them in a private meeting with Congress members about.
Lorenzen, a 1988 Honesdale High School graduate, is Senior Policy Advisor for House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer. Lorenzen helped write House Bill 2920, which Majority Leader Hoyer introduced in Congress. The occasion of the meeting was for Obama to thank Congressmen, who supported the bill which he had signed into law.
Known as “pay-as-you-go” or “PAYGO,” the law restores a key fiscal responsibility measure that is a proven tool for turning deficits into surpluses. Obama describes it as an important first step to get the budget back to balance by preventing the deficit hole from growing deeper. “I have fought for this principle for years, and want to thank the President, Speaker Pelosi, and the entire Blue Dog Coalition for their tireless efforts to once again give PAYGO the force of law,” Obama said in a prepared statement.
“That evening was definitely one of the highlights of my career,” Lorenzen said. “As I told mom, the only thing better than having your boss tell the President of the United States what a good job you did is having your mother there to hear it. Being able to share that experience with her is what made it special for me.”
They were originally expected to watch the President sign the bill at a ceremony in February, but the unusual snowstorm that shut down Washington canceled the ceremony. Obama signed the bill when Congress wasn’t in session. The White House decided to host a reception in honor of the members who worked on the PAYGO bill to make up for the lack of a signing ceremony.
Lorenzen was the only staff member invited, but received permission to bring his Mom. At the last minute the President decided to keep the reception private to talk with the members of Congress about healthcare reform. Instead, Ram Enamel, the White House Chief of Staff, arranged a private tour of the West Wing for Lorenzen and his mother, and a meeting afterward in the Diplomatic Meeting Room with Obama for pictures.
“I was just awe struck,” said Mrs. Houghtaling. “I couldn’t believe it was happening.” She said that Obama shook her hand and saw her camera, suggesting that someone snap a picture with it.
She said the President as very gracious, friendly and relaxed, devoting his valuable time to talk with them.
Hoyer then began to tell the President all of the work Lorenzen had done on the PAYGO bill for years. Lorenzen recalled, “The President turned to me, smiled broadly, and said ‘Yes, PAYGO. Thanks for all you did on that,’ to which I said ‘thank you for your leadership to make it happen.’”
Admitting she was tongue-tied, Mrs. Houghtaling recalled, “I said it was an honor to meet him. That’s all I could think to say!”
An advocate for handicapped accessibility since being injured in a car accident six years ago, she did mention to Hoyer that Medicare did not cover her stand-up wheelchair. She added that as a reminder for the need for healthcare reform, she explained.
She stated that she is “extremely proud” of her son.
Accompanying her to Washington was her daughter Karen Lorenzen, and Dawn Haines.
Ed Lorenzen said he dreamed of working in politics since high school, and attended American University in Washington to be close to Capitol Hill. He started as a volunteer intern in 1990 for former Congressman Charlie Stenholm of Texas. He stated that although some of his work was very mundane such as filing, he was faithful to the task, took advantage of opportunities and kept his eyes on the goal.
Among other legislation, Lorenzen worked on the Welfare Bill and was present when President Clinton signed it in 1996. he also worked on the Balanced Budget agreement in 1997. Presently he is involved with job creation bills, healthcare reform and next year’s federal budget.
