Enid Greene Waldholtz says she was stunned when she called her office Wednesday and instead of hearing the usual "Enid for Congress" was greeted by the words, "Office of Representative-elect Enid Greene Waldholtz."
"I thought, oh yea, that's right. The name is different now," she said. And like the changed greeting, she jumped into the new job without wasting time celebrating.She spent much of the first day after the election on the telephone with national leaders planning how to pass legislation ranging from term limits to the line-item veto, talking about possible committee assignments and planning how to set up her new office in Washington.
"I spent most of the morning with (Rep.) Jim Hansen (R-Utah) for advice on how to set up my office and to get information about the committee system, which is in flux," she said. "I'm lucky to have someone like him who is willing to share information."
Hansen is probably happy to have a freshman GOP House member to share data with - since there hasn't been one since former Rep. Dave Monson, R-Utah, was elected 10 years ago.
Waldholtz said she had phone calls from national GOP leaders seeking information about what committee assignments she would like.
"They asked what committee you want to be on but warned the committee may no longer be there," she said, adding Republicans want to do away with redundant or useless committees.
"I think you may see some dramatic changes. And with Republicans coming to power, there may be some opportunities for freshmen on powerful committees that normally wouldn't be there."
She told leaders, "My No. 1 commitment is to control federal spending."