By now, you may be wondering what exactly I do. That is a very good question, and I hope I have the answer for you here.

Most importantly, congresspeople help make laws for the whole country. Laws are rules that we all follow everyday to be good citizens. I can help make a law by writing one or by voting on one.

When I was younger, there was a program called "Schoolhouse Rock." Your parents probably know of it. "Schoolhouse Rock" taught a lot about science, math, and government. I think that there is one "Schoolhouse Rock" will help you learn how laws are made. Watch it below!

If I wanted to write my own law, I would first need an idea. I get those ideas by talking to people in the Third District of Kansas (the area that I represent). People tell me their problems and ask me to try to solve them. When I hear a problem or topic that is very important, I get an idea to write something called a bill. A bill is something written to be a law, but hasn't been voted on. I try to write that bill to help solve the problem.


Here I am in my office in Washington DC talking to two people about building safety. These people would like me to support a bill about making buildings safer.

Once I write the bill, I take it to Congress, and other congresspeople talk about it. Eventually, Congress votes on whether they think the bill will help Americans or not. If more than half of the Congresspeople vote for the bill, it becomes a law. If less than half of the Congresspeople vote for the bill, it does not become a law.

Even though I do write bills, I do not write all of them! There are hundreds of other congresspeople who write bills, too. Much of the time, other congresspeople will try to get their bills passed. Their bills have different ideas and try to solve different problems. When these bills come up, people in my district tell me whether they support those bills or not.


In this picture, I am talking to parents and teachers about how they want to change schools. I use what people tell me to help change laws.

Then, I try to vote on those bills the way that the people want me to vote. Not everyone who talks to me agrees, but that is the nice thing about democracy: we can share our opinions, no matter how different they are.

When I'm not in Congress, I am working at home. I go to different events, help people in need, talk about important things, and meet people who want to talk to me. Whatever I do in or out of Congress, I can't do without people like you. Your ideas and futures are what help me do my job.


This is me flipping pancakes. I didn't burn any... I thought I did very well!