Orangeburg native Jaime R. Harrison serves as director of floor operations and counsel for Majority Whip James E. Clyburn in the U.S. House of Representatives. A 1994 graduate of Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School, he went on to earn degrees from Yale University and Georgetown University Law School. He wrote the following article for The Times and Democrat to provide a glimpse into his work in Washington, D.C.

There have been countless memorable moments on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, such as FDR’s 1941 Four Freedoms Speech that foreshadowed our entrance into WWII, President Lyndon Johnson’s 1964 State of the Union Address declaring a War on Poverty and the passage of the Voting Rights Act.

For the past year and a half, I have had the honor of witnessing and being a part of history by working on the floor of the “People’s House” as floor director for the majority whip, Rep. James E. Clyburn.

Usually when I tell people what I do for a living, they have two questions: first, what is a whip, and second, what are your responsibilities as floor director?

What is the origin of the role of “whip” and what are the responsibilities of the majority whip?

The term whip comes from the sport of fox hunting and a member of the fox-hunting team called the “whipper-in.” A whipper-in is someone who, during the hunt for fox, is responsible for keeping the dogs organized and focused on chasing the fox. These individuals usually ride horseback alongside the pack and use whips to keep the dogs from straying too far. The British adopted the role of “whip” in their parliament and the United States Congress followed suit during the early 20th century as parties began to elect party leaders

Congressman Clyburn always states that “the majority whip’s job is to count votes and whip up support for Democratic legislation and keep members of Congress focused upon the party’s mission and legislative goals.” Clyburn is the 24th Majority Whip in the history of the House of Representatives.

What are the responsibilities for the floor director to the majority whip?

As floor director, I like to say that I am the vote counter for the chief vote counter in the House of Representatives. As floor director, it is my job to manage the floor operations and the extensive whip organization for Majority Whip Clyburn. The whip organization is sufficiently large and complex, but it is particularly reflective of the composition of the Democratic Caucus as a whole.

The Democratic Caucus is the formal organization of the 236 Democrats in the House of Representatives, however within the one caucus there are several smaller caucuses. Some of these caucuses or coalitions include: the Blue Dog Coalition (more conservative Democrats); New Democrats (pro-business and pro-free trade); Congressional Black Caucus; Congressional Hispanic Caucus; Progressive Caucus; Women’s Caucus; Congressional Asian Pacific Islander American Caucus; and the Majority Makers (new members of Congress elected in 2006).

As the whip organization, it is our job to work with smaller caucuses to garner the 218 votes needed to promote the Democratic agenda and pass legislation.

The volume and diversity of our smaller caucuses clearly demonstrate that it is not always an easy task to garner that magical number of 218 votes. Therefore, Congressman Clyburn structured his organization to reflect the diversity of the Democratic Caucus. Members of each smaller caucus serve in the whip organization either as chief deputy whips, senior whips, regional whips, at-large whips or assistant whips.

As floor director, it is my job to work with these smaller caucuses, members of Congress and their staffs, legislative committees and outside advocacy groups to construct legislation that reflects the thoughts of the majority of the Congress and, ultimately, the will of the American people.

So if you are wondering what a typical week for in the House of Representatives is like, take a look:

Monday, July 28

Mondays tend to be the busiest day of the week for me because of the multitude of leadership staff meetings. These meetings are usually in preparation for the legislative agenda for the week.

9 a.m. – Arrive to work, check e-mails and prepare for the day’s staff meetings.

9:45 a.m. – Weekly Whip and Personal Office staff meeting – Every Monday, Congressman Clyburn’s staff in the personal and whip offices meet to review Congressman Clyburn’s schedule, discuss floor proceedings, review committee markups and receive updates on other staff happenings. My job in this meeting is to report on floor operations and important bills for the week.

10:30 a.m. – Weekly leadership staff meeting. Staff representatives from the Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel and other leadership aides meet once a week to discuss important topics and events for the week. In this meeting, my job is to report on any issues, whipping actions, or activities for the week.

11 a.m. – Weekly chief deputy whip staff meeting. There are nine chief deputy whips. Every Monday, the majority whip’s floor staff meets with staff representatives from each chief deputy whip to engage in in-depth discussions of whip activities and to receive updates on the happenings within the Democratic Caucus.

At today’s meeting, we discussed strategies to deal with a pending Republican discharge petition on guns in the District of Columbia. A discharge petition is a method used by the minority party in the House of Representatives to bring legislation directly to the floor, thereby circumventing the normal committee process. As floor director, I preside over this meeting.

Noon – Meeting with staff representatives from the Congressional Black Caucus and leadership. Members of the Congressional Black Caucus were having some issues with a committee regarding a potential bill. They requested a meeting with the leadership and I hosted the meeting in the whip’s office. We made several suggestions on how the CBC could resolve their issues with the committee.

1 p.m. – Weekly whip staff meeting with Democratic LDs. This meeting takes place every Monday. Its participants include representatives from committees and legislative directors from each Democratic office. During this meeting, we have each committee give a brief presentation on legislation scheduled for floor consideration during the week. This meeting is conducted by the whip’s office and a member of my floor team will usually preside.

During today’s meeting, I announced the winners of my “whip question” challenge. The offices that were the first to respond to the whip question would receive a homemade red velvet cake baked by me. Whip questions are instruments used by the whip organization to ascertain the level of support within the Democratic Caucus for any given piece of legislation. Whip questions can be asked and submitted electronically or in person. This incentive apparently worked; we received responses in record times.

2:30 p.m. – Meeting with committee staff and parliamentarians -- As legislation approaches floor consideration, leadership and committee staff will often meet with the House Parliamentarians to discuss the legislative scope of the bill. In this particular meeting, we discussed the FY09 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Bill.

3 p.m. – Lunch. I finally had a burger from Good Stuff Eatery, whose owner has been featured on the Bravo show “Top Chef.”

4 p.m. – Meeting with committee staff and parliamentarians. In this meeting, we discussed the scope of a bill that would give regulatory authority over tobacco to the FDA.

4:30 p.m. – Meeting with committee staff and parliamentarians. In this meeting, we discussed the scope of the energy speculation bill. Many economists believe that there is excessive speculation in the energy commodity market and that speculation has led to a dramatic increase in the cost of oil and gas. This bill would curb excessive speculation, bring greater transparency in the commodity market and strengthen enforcement to prevent market manipulation.

5 p.m. – Wrap-up and draft weekly memo for the whip. After my eighth meeting of the day, I returned to my office to begin drafting the weekly memo for the Whip, returning phone calls, answering e-mails and mapping out meeting schedules for the week.

7:45 p.m. – Depart for the day.

Tuesday, July 29

7 a.m. – Grocery store. Buy the ingredients for the red velvet cakes I owed the whip question challenge winners. As you can see, it is important to do what it takes to create and build relationships between the whip and his members. The cakes were a big hit and incentive to get members and their staff to act in a timely manner.

10 a.m. – Voting rights and voter protection meeting. I met with a group which was looking for leadership support on several bills to protect the rights of voters, particularly college students. I discussed how Congressman Clyburn could get involved in such initiatives and discussed the importance of making Election Day a federal holiday.

11 a.m. – Whip floor staff meeting. I met with my floor staff to get updates on our whip activities for the week, such as vote counts on the Paycheck Fairness Act and the Energy Speculation bill.

Noon – Lunch.

4 p.m. – Weekly majority whip briefing. Once a week, we brief Congressman Clyburn on the legislative schedule and whip actions for the week. During this meeting, we review the floor schedule for each day and update him on the latest whip counts and issues with each bill. In addition, we take a look ahead to major issues on the horizon. These meetings are attended by senior staff in both the whip and personal offices.

5 p.m. – Democratic Caucus meeting. Sen. Barack Obama stopped by the House of Representatives to address the members of the Democratic Caucus. I had the opportunity to meet him and take a picture.

This was the meeting in which Washington Post reporter Dana Milbank took a secondhand quote on what Obama said and twisted it to fit his premise that Barack is arrogant. I sat through that meeting and heard Sen. Obama state that he understands that this election is not about him, rather people are extremely excited about the potential to change the world that we live in. It was a great speech from a truly remarkable individual.

6:30 p.m. -- Votes- The first votes of the week were called, and I went to the floor to assist members with discussing legislation and votes for the night. While on the floor, we passed out whip cards to members of the whip operation. These whip cards were asking members about their support for the Paycheck Fairness Act, a bill that would be considered on the floor later in the week. This process of garnering support for legislation is called “whipping.”

7:40 p.m. -- Departure from Capitol Hill and Chinese Embassy grand opening -- After votes, I, along with some of my Congressional colleagues, left Capitol Hill to attend the grand opening of the new Chinese Embassy. At this event, I chatted with one of China’s emissaries to the U.S. Congress and the Jamaican Ambassador to the U.S.

Wednesday, July 30

8:30 a.m. -- Weekly committee chairpersons meeting -- Every week the majority leader and the majority whip meet with committee chairpersons to discuss the status of legislation and issues within each committee. I usually attend these meetings with Congressman Clyburn.

9 a.m. -- Weekly speaker’s breakfast with the freshman class -- Every Wednesday, the speaker of the House and Democratic leadership host a meeting with new members. At this meeting, the speaker and other members of leadership discuss the legislative schedule and concerns specifically pertinent to the new members. A member of my floor staff will usually attend this meeting with Congressman Clyburn.

10 a.m. -- Congressional Black Caucus Meeting on H.R. 1108-FDA/Tobacco Bill -- In this meeting, the Congressional Black Caucus discussed the FDA/Tobacco Bill, the measures that banned flavored tobacco and the issues regarding menthol. Congressman Clyburn was able to address the issues and concerns regarding this bipartisan legislation.

11 a.m. -- Calls to members’ offices -- My floor staff and I began to make calls to member offices that had not responded to the whip question on the Paycheck Fairness bill.

2 p.m. -- Senior whip meeting -- Congressman Clyburn meets at least twice a month with the senior whips. Senior whips are those members that represent each of the smaller caucuses and Clyburn uses them as his “kitchen cabinet” to discuss upcoming legislation and controversial issues. He usually reports the feedback from the senior whip meetings to the rest of the Democratic leadership. It is my responsibility to invite these members and organize this meeting.

2:30 p.m. -- Energy Speculation Bill vote called on the floor. This bill was brought to the floor under suspension of the rules. In order for a suspension bill to pass, it has to garner at least 2/3rds of the votes within the House. At one point in the vote, we had 291 votes, enough to pass the legislation, but then the Republicans forced a few of their members to change their votes so that the bill would not pass.

The final result was 276 Yeas to 151 Nays. This was a classic political play by the House Republicans.

3:15 p.m. -- Democratic leadership meeting -- Within any given week, Speaker Pelosi will call 1-4 meetings of the Democratic leadership. In these meetings, the leadership discusses floor and other issues faced by the Democratic Caucus. I, along with the policy director and communications director for the whip, staff these meetings for Congressman Clyburn.

4 p.m. -- Other floor votes -- Votes were called on two important bills: H.R. 1108-The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (commonly referred to as the FDA/Tobacco Bill) and H.R. 4040-The Conference Report on the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. These bills garnered bipartisan support and passed 326-102 and 424-1.

Thursday, July 31

9 a.m. -- Weekly member whip meeting -- Every Thursday morning at 9 a.m., Congressman Clyburn hosts a meeting with Democratic members to discuss floor actions for the remainder of the week. Members of the Democratic leadership and committee chairpersons also make legislative presentations during this meeting. It is my responsibility to construct the agenda and invite members to make presentations.

One of the highlights for this meeting is the “hot breakfast” that Congressman Clyburn provides the members. The breakfast usually includes grits, bacon, eggs, biscuits, sausage links, hash, donuts, fruit and coffee. Sometimes I think members stop by just to have this delicious breakfast.

10:30 a.m. -- Meeting at the DCCC with 21st Century Democrats -- At this meeting, I discussed the possibility of having a Get Out the Vote training sponsored by Congressman Clyburn for S.C. Democratic activists.

11 a.m. -- Meeting with leadership staff and parliamentarians.

11:45 a.m. -- Meeting with Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher.

Noon -- Meeting with Congressman Clyburn to brief him on issues such as House adjournment and the status of the FY09 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Bill.

2:30 p.m. -- Votes on the floor for H.R. 1338-The Paycheck Fairness Act and H.R. 1389-The Conference Report for the Higher Education Opportunity Act. The whip’s office was particularly active on the Paycheck Fairness Act.

This bill strengthened the Equal Pay Act and, in essence, would end the discriminatory practice of paying men and women unequally for performing the same job. Business and corporate interests oppose the bill, but it was seen as a significant statement by House Democrats. The whip’s office sent out a whip question on this bill to make sure there was enough Democratic support to pass the legislation. We knew we would receive little to no support from the House Republicans.

Nonetheless, this bill passed on the floor by a vote of 247-178.

The second major bill was the Conference Report for the Higher Education Opportunity Act. This bill encouraged colleges to rein in price increases, restored integrity and accountability to the student loan programs, simplified the federal student aid application process, made textbook costs more manageable, expanded college access and support for low-income and minority students, increased college aid and support for veterans and military families, and ensured equal college opportunities for students with disabilities.

This bill passed on the floor by a vote of 380-49.

The biggest outrage and floor item of the day was Republican leader John Boehner’s attempt to pass a privileged resolution censuring Rep. Charlie Rangel for unsubstantiated allegations in a New York Times article.

Congressman Rangel went to the floor of the House and explained to his colleagues that he had already asked the House Ethics Committee to investigate these allegations and was positive that their review would demonstrate that there was no wrongdoing on his behalf. Boehner suffered a stinging defeat. His motion was tabled by a vote of 254 Ayes, 138 Nays, and 34 presents. Fifty-four House Republicans (25 percent of their members) voted against the minority leader’s attempt.

We completed votes at approximately 8 p.m.

Friday, August 1

9 a.m. -- House opens with one-minute speeches and votes on the amendments to the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriation Bill.

This bill was a major priority for House Democrats and built upon our commitment to veterans. The bill addresses the critical needs facing veterans’ medical care and active duty service members and their families. The bill also rejected the president’s proposal to cut the Department of Veteran Affairs construction budget by $788 million. The bill also provided $336 million above the president’s request for quality-of-life projects that will directly improve living conditions and health care delivery. This important legislation passed the House by a vote of 409-4.

1 p.m. -- Votes completed for the week and the House adjourns for August recess.

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