Q: What piece of advice do you wish someone would have told you when you first came to Congress?

Rep. Artur Davis (D-Ala.): “Make good staffing decisions, and make staffing decisions you won’t have to undo in three or four months.”

Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.): “Work to have everything go through the process. Whatever tries to jump through the process never makes it.”

Outgoing Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.): “The economy is big and complicated, and don’t be easily fooled. It’s not easy to predict. Don’t look at it like arithmetic. It’s not.”

Rep. Connie Mack (R-Fla.): “Enjoy the moment.”

Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-Calif.): “There’s no perfect way of doing it.”

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.): “Place more confidence in what their constituents are telling them than conventional political wisdom.”

Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.): “I think everyone has to find their own way around here. Keep your ears open, head down and your mouth shut.”

Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.): “I was really healthy on advice,” he said, noting that he had his older brother,  Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), here when he arrived. “Probably would be to get less advice in my case. A map of the building would have been helpful. The buildings, the corridors; I got lost a lot.”

Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas): “Control your own schedule.”

Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.): “Work hard early. Getting to know the procedures of the Senate early on is a big help. The harder they work, the earlier they’ll pick up on those.”

Rep. Robert Brady (D-Pa.): “Patience. Have patience. Don’t move too fast around here.”

Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.): “Oh, just learn your way around. Get to know the place, the people.”

Rep. Allen Boyd (D-Fla.): “Find someone you can trust, that you can go to on all the issues.”

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio): “Have a great scheduler. It was difficult coming from the state House, not being in control of your schedule, your life.”

Rep. Charles Boustany Jr. (R-La.): “Listen and learn.”

Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.): “Make sure you talk to the local press before you talk to the national
press.”

Rep. David Obey (D-Wis.): “I would say, remember most of the critical decisions you are going to make, you’re going to make when you’re very, very tired.”

Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio): “Don’t let your staff over-manage you. Give yourself some room to breathe.”