This year, I recently received sad inquiries from friends when they found out about a trip I took in July. As soon as they hear that I briefly traveled last summer to Washington, D.C. to lobby members of Congress for climate action, they give me that melancholy look like all is lost. They then proceed to ask me: ‘What was it like to lobby in Washington, D.C. in July?’

I share my friends’ concern that President Donald Trump halted all federal actions on climate change this year with his executive actions, budget cuts, and attempting to a stop major clean energy projects. Just recently, Trump called climate change a ‘con job’ at his speech to the United Nations on September 25th. However, I will not let Donald Trump stop me from lobbying to tackle the threat of climate change.

I happily responded, “I had a fantastic time lobbying in Washington, D.C. this summer.”

My friends look at me dumbfounded. I then share why it was a wonderful trip.

Over the past 10 years, I lobbied Congressional offices in Washington, D.C 11 times. I love lobbying on Capitol Hill for climate action. All those trips were fabulous experiences. I blogged about those journeys in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, and 2023. This trip was no different.

Below is the part of my blog about my trip to Washington, D.C. July 19-23, 2023. The first part focused on my arrival in Washington, D.C, the friends I stayed with in Takoma Park, touring the National Archives and Smithsonian National Museum of American History, and checking in at the Citizens’ Climate Lobby Conference to prepare for the Congressional Lobby Day. 

Part 2 is my story lobbying on Congressional Offices on Capitol Hill on July 22, 2025.
Part 3 is my recollection of the evening guided tour of the U.S. Capitol Building led by Congresswoman Val Hoyle on July 22, 2025.    

Arriving in Washington D.C. to see the U.S. Capitol before a thunderstorm

I arrived in Washington, D.C. on late Saturday afternoon, July 11th. I took a five-hour nonstop flight on Alaska Airlines from Portland, Oregon to Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia. The airport is located just south of the National Mall and the Pentagon. Thus, one can get a close bird eye’s view of the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Memorial, the White House and the Capitol Dome greeting you if you are in a window seat as the plane is approaching the runway of this airport. It’s as if the iconic white monuments want to say, ‘Welcome to your Capitol City!’ as the plane descends with its the wheels out make a touchdown on the airport’s runway.

After I deboarded the plane, I headed straight for the DC Metro, the rapid transit public trains that service the Washington, D.C. Metro area. As these commuter trains approach the stations every few minutes, they seem to stretch a long distance with 6 to 8 grey to silver looking train cars. In the underground stations, the loud echo inside the cavernous waiting platforms makes it seems like the trains are roaring like a lion as they meet up with the hordes of local commuters and visiting tourists depending on this public transportation.

When I visit Washington D.C, I stay with friends in Takoma Park, Maryland, which borders upper northeast section of Washington, D.C. On my way to visit them, I always take a temporary diversion to get off at the Union Station Metro stop. I then walk 4 blocks to the U.S. Capitol Building to take a selfie of myself with the white gleaming U.S. Capitol Dome behind me. Immediately after that, I texted my wife and close family members, as well as letting the whole world on social media, that I am excited to be in Washington, D.C. to lobby for climate action.

When I stood near the Capitol Building on July 19th this year, a few lightning bolts landed in the area. It delighted me to be in Washington, D.C. However, the sky was in a different mood as an energic summer thunderstorm would be unleashed any minute. After I took my selfie and texted family that I was standing next the U.S. Capitol Building, I quickly scurried back to the Union Station Metro stop to try to beat the impending downpour of rain.

I made it to the Takoma Park Metro stop where my friends Tom and Reena offered to pick me up in their car. As soon as I departed from the train, it rained hard with a voracity I had not seen in a long time. I texted Tom and Reena 10 minutes before I arrived at the station so they could pull up to the Metro parking lot just as I was getting off the train. When I walked towards the parking lot, they were not there. I had to wait in the access tunnel at the Metro stop because it rained so hard. I texted Tom again. I messaged him on Facebook. I called their landline phone. 20 minutes later with the continual hard rain still coming down, I saw no sign of their car. I dialed the landline again. Tom picked up the phone. He felt embarrassed he had not heard my calls and texts. He quickly scrambled to get to his car and pick me up at the train station.

Staying with my friends Tom and Reena in Takoma Park, Maryland

Traveling to Washington, D.C. to lobby for climate action is expensive, especially flying from the West Coast. Even more, the hotels in the city command a hefty price. I was fortunate that a friend gave me his airline points on Alaska Airlines to fly to Washington, D.C. In the spring, I contacted my friends Tom and Reena to see if I could stay with them. If they were not available for me to stay with them, I would not have been able to afford to travel to Washington, D.C. Fortunately, they responded in the spring that they would be happy for me to stay with them.

Over the years, Tom and Reena became my once-a-year Washington D.C. family. I lost track how many times stayed in their home. I cherish my conversations with them about U.S. politics, Middle East peace (they have advocated on that issue for decades), their involvement with Braver Angels, talking about our families and mutual friends, our travels, the latest news on Washington D.C, and their friendly sweet but food aggressive cat Botang. The time I spend with Tom and Reena in their home is so fulfilling that I stay up too late chatting with them. I burn the candles at both ends because I wake up early for the all-day climate lobbying conference and then the next intense day of lobbying Congressional Offices on Capitol Hill. I joke I should either come to Washington D.C. to just lobby and stay at a convenient hotel or visit Tom and Reena. Unfortunately, I cannot afford to take separate trips.

This time, they offered me to stay in their remodeled studio room above their garage, a separate building from their house. This room looked like a brand new and expensive Air B&B with a sofa that expanded into a bed, bathroom with a shower, kitchen, and kitchen table. The catch was that I had to collapse the bed back to a sofa each day and put all my luggage in the closet. Reena is a licensed couples and family therapist who sees clients during the week in the place where I stayed. Thus, she needed it to look like her professional office and a comfortable place for her clients to attend their therapy sessions. I even teased Reena that it made me seem like she was hosting a fugitive. We both laughed. Our joke was if the police came their door looking for me because of my political lobbying and activism, she could claim that I wasn’t staying there and that she had ‘never heard of me.’

I woke up on that Sunday morning relaxed and refreshed in that room. I went to their nearby co-op to buy food for my breakfasts for my entire stay. I stopped by their house around 11 am to inform them that I planned to spend time in the Washington Mall. I would then pick up my registration materials for the climate lobbying conference when they opened after 3 pm that day. It was a sunny summer day in the Washington D.C. area. It surprised Tom and Reena that I started the day so late to sightsee on the Washington Mall. I almost responded I was sluggish to start my day because I felt so at home in their guest quarters.

Exploring the National Archives on my first full day in Washington D.C.

I walked from their home to the DC Metro through their community of Takoma Park. The city of Takoma Park is a middle-class professional suburb of Washington D.C. With Norman Rockwell style brick homes and colonial style houses, it looks like the place you would want to raise a family and escape from the hustle and bustle of urban Washington D.C. It has a quiet feel. Yet, there are trendy boutiques, cafes, and restaurants in the fifteen-minute walk from Tom and Reena’s home to the DC Metro. It had a neighborly feel like fictional Mayberry, North Carolina from the Andy Griffith Show. I wanted to say hello to everyone I encountered, and they were happy to respond. Takoma Park is famous for its far-left progressive vibe. As a result, it prides itself on the nicknames of “Berkeley of the East” and “The People’s Republic of Takoma Park.”

Tom and Reena moved to Takoma Park after the 2020 COVID pandemic diminished. This was my third time staying with them there. Walking and spending time in Takoma Park was a highlight of my recent trips to Washington, D.C.

Like all my other visits to Washington, D.C, I had time to explore the national monuments of the Washington Mall during the day before the climate lobbying conference. I usually walked by the White House, Washington Monument, Vietnam Memorial, and the Lincoln Memorial. However, this year it felt too hot and humid to go for a long walk outside. To beat the heat, I decided do something different to go inside at the National Archives to see the original copies of the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution. Afterwards, I intended to see the modern cultural exhibits at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.

With the threat to our democracy from the autocratic breakthrough of Donald Trump, I was curious to see America’s founding documents to reflect upon how our country will prevail in these dangerous times. Even more, I came to Washington, D.C. to lobby my members of Congress to petition them to act. The American precedent to petition our leaders started with the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution. Like the other federal buildings on the Washington Mall, the National Archives looked like an imposing Roman or Greek grey stone temple with towering columns to hold up the building’s exterior. To get one in the mindset to go inside the National Archives, a sitting Roman statue, known as the Guardianship statue, was next to the front steps with the words etched in the stone, “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.”

Once inside the National Archives, I walked around the Exhibit of the Record of Rights. The exhibit had great quotes from Chief Joseph, Congresswoman Barbara Jordan, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, and others on the significance of freedom and equality. In the center of the entrance to the exhibit was one of the four original copies of the 1297 Magna Carta, the first document of its kind to state that the king is not above the law and every man is entitled to a fair trial. The Magna Carta is considered as one of the most important legal documents in the history of democracy. In addition, it was a guiding source for the U.S. founding fathers for drafting the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.

I next went to the Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom which held the U.S. founding documents. The mammoth gates were open in the front of the room. I assumed they closed to protect the documents from thieves when the National Archives are closed in the evenings and weekends. The left side of this area had a huge mural painting of the founding fathers gathered around Thomas Jefferson holding the Declaration of Independence, known as the Declaration Mural. The right side had enormous mural painting of the founding fathers standing around holding copies of the U.S. Constitution with George Washington in the center, known as the Constitution Mural. Underneath the Declaration Mural, written displays explained and showcased the documents that lead to the Declaration of Independence. The center of the room under three large temperature-controlled cases displayed the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Bill of Rights, known collectively as the Charters of Freedom.

A steady stream of people lined up under the Declaration Mural to see the Charter documents. I got in line to see them for myself up close. Because it was a steady line of individuals to look at the documents, I could not linger long admiring and studying them up close. I did not want to cause a delay for the onlookers. Looking at the originals up close, it was a bit disappointed to see how faded they were. On the other hand, the original Declaration of Independence document will 250 years old next year on July 4, 2026. The Constitution and the Bill of Rights are 14 years younger than the Declaration of Independence. Those documents now live more in our hearts, norms, and precedents than on the disappearing ink of this national treasure.

I was happy to see the big crowds at the National Archives. It gave me hope our American democratic experiment might continue past the threat of Donald Trump and the MAGA movement looking to trample over it. Granted this was a Sunday afternoon in the middle of summer vacation season. Yet, it felt like many people, including the international visitors at the National Archives, still cared about these documents and the democratic values they represent.

Seeing the Smithsonian National Museum of American History

I then went to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. I made a beeline to the Entertainment Nation Exhibit to see modern cultural icons, such as Archie bunker’s chair, Dorothy’s (Judy Garland) ruby slippers from the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, and puppets from The Muppet Show. I felt elated seeing all those cultural touch zones. Then I was enthralled to see so much more. I took many photos admiring so many other spectacular items, such as the R2-D2 and C-3PO costumes from Return of the Jedi, Prince’s guitar, the costume worn by Lin-Manuel Miranda as Alexander Hamilton in Hamilton: An American Musical on Broadway, 1992 U.S. Olympic gold medal figure skating champion Kristi Yamaguchi’s ice skates, the sign post from “M*A*S*H”, and the jacket, hat, and bull whip worn by Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones in the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark, a bandana from country music artist Will Nelson, etc.

As I left the Smithsonian, I chatted with a tourist traveling with his family from the state of Washington. He recommended that I travel to the top of the Old Post Office Building, which is just a couple of blocks from the Smithsonian, to get a bird’s eye of view of Washington D.C. It took some time to wait in line to take the two different elevators to the observation deck. The view was a pleasant view of the city. However, it was windy at the top, which made the experience feel queasier with the heights. Plus, the view from the top of the Washington Monument is much higher and gives the best aerial view of the capital city.

Attending Citizens’ Climate Lobby (CCL) Conference to prepare for lobbying

As with my previous ten visits to Washington D.C, I was there to attend a Citizens’ Climate Lobby (CCL) Conference and lobby Day on Capitol Hill. CCL prides itself as a nonpartisan, grassroots advocacy climate change organization focused on national policies to address climate change. They like to enable individual breakthroughs in the exercise of personal and political power, such as lobbying Congress, on specific effective climate policies. This year, CCL wanted us to lobby Congress to support clean energy permitting reform and the Fix Our Forests Act to reduce wildfire risk, improve forest health, and protect local communities.

Before we lobbied on Capitol Hill on Tuesday July 22nd, CCL had an all-day conference on Monday, July 21st to learn more about the specific lobby asks for permitting reform and the Fix Our Forest Act. Even more, CCL had various trainings to help us be more skilled citizen lobbyists. When meeting with Congressional staff, CCL wants us to establish a likable rapport, listen intently to find common ground, while we confidently ask members of Congress to prioritize our climate policies. Over 800 CCL volunteers from nearly every U.S. state came to this conference to lobby over 400 Congressional Offices.

Since this was my 11th CCL Conference and Lobby Day, I made numerous friends with CCL from across the United States that enjoy reconnecting with at these conferences and lobby days. Friends from New York, Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina, Minnesota, California, Maryland, Alaska, Hawaii, Virginia, Missouri, and so many places. I made time to socialize with these friends at the hotel bar and restaurant meals in the limited free time.

The conference was held at the majestic Omni Shoreham, an upscale hotel located in northwestern Washington, D.C. Numerous plaques commemorate the history of this landmark hotel. It hosted numerous Presidential Inauguration Balls from President Franklin D. Roosvelt 1933 to President Bill Clinton playing the saxophone during his Inauguration Ball held there in 1993. President Harry Truman came there to play all night poker games while he was President. The Beatles stayed there in 1964 while they were in Washington D.C. to perform one of their first American concerts. The gravitas and the regal history of the hotel lend well to responsibility of lobbying Congressional offices to lobby for climate action at the U.S. Capitol the next day.

During the lunch, dinner, and evening breaks at the conference, CCL encouraged us to meet with our lobby teams to prepare for our scheduled Congressional lobby meetings happening the next day. At these prep meetings, we brainstormed on an action the member of Congress took that we would share our thanks and strategize on how to ask them to support the CCL priorities. We then assigned various meeting roles such as appreciator, notetaker, timekeeper, deliverer of the CCL leave behind document, asker of the primary and secondary CCL priorities, photographer, organizer for the thank you card, and follow up after the meeting to the requests and questions of the Congressional staff or member of Congress. These prep meetings were typically lively assuring a new person that their lobby experience will go well, others who have strong opinions how the Congressional Office will respond to the asks, and jockeying to consider who is best suited for each meeting role.

Before the conference, CCL assigned me to participate in four lobby meetings. They were all for Oregon members of Congress: Senator Jeff Merkley, Rep. Maxine Dexter, Rep. Andrea Salinas, and Rep. Val Hoyle. The meeting schedule indicated these would be staff meetings without Senator Jeff Merkley, Representatives Maxine Dexter, and Representative Val Hoyle there. It noted that the meeting with Andrea Salinas would be face-to-face with some of her staff present. It is encouraging when we see that the member of Congress might be joining us. However, in my 10 previous lobby days on Capitol Hill meeting with numerous Congressional Offices, I never saw a member of Congress show up to a CCL lobby meeting because changes in their committee schedule or other meetings forced them to attend those commitments instead.

I was the designated leader for the Congresswoman Maxine Dexter meeting. Because conflicts with other lobby prep meetings and another event, only two of my lobby team was able to join me for dinner to prepare for our meeting. I knew we had some very long-winded talkers in my lobby group who were very passionate about permitting reform and the Fix Our Forests Act. I advised the two people present that we wanted to balance listening to the concerns and objections of the Congressional Office to our asks to make sure they feel completely heard while we advocated for our CCL climate priorities. These two individuals talked a lot during our prep meeting. I worried they did not fully comprehend my advice. In addition, I shared my observation from 10 years of lobbying with CCL on Capitol Hill that there would be a slim chance that Rep. Dexter would join us since members of Congress frequently have schedule changes that force them to skip the CCL lobby meetings. I cautioned to not expect Rep. Dexter to join us but be pleasantly surprised if she does.

After this lobby prep meeting and the others I had that evening, I went back to Tom and Reena’s house in Takoma Park to visit with them and try to get some sleep before the big CCL Congressional lobby day on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, July 22nd.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of this blog: san account of my experience lobbying on Congressional Offices on Capitol Hill on July 22, 2025.
Then Part 3 is my recollection of the evening guided tour of the U.S. Capitol Building led by Congresswoman Val Hoyle on July 22, 2025.