United States Capitol Building, Washington DC

Today during my layover in Washington DC, I visited the US Capitol building, not as a tourist, but as a member of our union, the Association of Flight Attendants. With dozens of other volunteers from a variety of airlines, I joined the Government Affairs departments of our union, the Pilots union and of airline management, as they all worked together in a large joint lobbying effort in the halls of Congress. This was something completely new to me and it was quite educational!

I joined 2 other experienced volunteers as they had brief meetings with the staff of the congressmen from both New York and Vermont. The lobbying effort was in regards to an important vote next week which could have a huge negative impact on the airline industry in the United States.

I had a little bit of time to take some pictures of the building before I headed back to the hotel to get ready for my flight home. The dome of the Capitol building is undergoing the first restoration project in over 50 years. The dome is made of cast iron and has deteriorated over the years, with over 1000 cracks and other structural deficiencies.

Watch a Time-lapse video here.