Trash talking on wheels
Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) says he doesn’t want to pay the high gas costs to drive himself to work each day from Alexandria, Va. That’s why, he claims, he rides the picturesque, 11 1/2-mile trail along the water to the Capitol each morning.

“It’s pretty hard,” he says, “because there’s a lot of guys out there who want to be like Lance Armstrong and want to push you off the path.”

Asked if he’s trying to out-bike Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), who is so into biking that he wears a red bike lapel pin, Kingston says, “He’s not serious. He talks a good game.”

Tim Daly, Blumenauer’s spokesman, disputes that his boss isn’t serious about biking. “My boss, we like to call him the s-p-o-k-e-sman,” he says, explaining  that Blumenauer is the founder and co-chairman of the Congressional Bike Caucus. “My boss has been riding to work for as many years as I can remember.

“Mr. Kingston needs a couple more years of cycling experience so he can compete with my boss. We should remind Mr. Kingston that my boss just finished his 35th marathon (the Marine Corps Marathon) last weekend, and two weeks before that, his 34th marathon, the Portland Marathon.”

One might think that Kingston’s first order of business would be to shower after biking to the Hill.

“I don’t have to,” Kingston says. “I’m a gross, nasty guy, and I save money on gas and water.”

His chief of staff, however, interrupts and assures, “He’s just kidding. He really does shower.”

Lobbyist serves as TV consultant
Ben McKay, a lobbyist for the National Insurance Association of America, never imagined that he would help create a storyline for a primetime TV drama like “Commander in Chief.” But when his old friend Ric Arthur, a classmate at Harvard, called from Los Angeles to seek help with a political plot line, McKay, who has worked in politics for more than a decade, came to the rescue.

Not only is the show’s Speaker of the House, played by Donald Sutherland, from Florida but the storyline concerned Florida, about which McKay is an expert after working as Rep. Katherine Harris’s (R-Fla.) chief of staff.

On the show, Florida is to take a huge barge of trash in exchange for something — but what would that something be? This is where McKay’s expertise came in.

“I was helping to come up with a wish list of what Florida would want,” he said, mentioning high-speed rail as No. 1 on the list.

Hill aides convene to help the troops
Alicia Campbell, an aide to Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Calif.), says she no longer wants to sit on the sidelines. So she and peers from other offices put together a new congressional staff organization called For Our Troops.

The idea came about when Campbell was talking to military liaison officers in the House and realized that the wounded service members at Walter Reed and the Bethesda Naval Hospital have a difficult time communicating their needs.

“There’s no forum for the communication to get out there,” Campbell said. “For Our Troops will facilitate communication between those who have a day-to-day knowledge of the needs of the troops and those who are willing and able to fulfill these needs.”  

Those needs could be as simple as tours of the Capitol for the troops and their families. The staff organization will not accept any monetary donations.

The group is hosting a kick-off event Friday at the Hawk ’n’ Dove. The event is envisioned as a mixer between wounded soldiers and congressional staff interested in the organization.

The Congressional Staff Legislation Association will sponsor the event.

Among those working with Campbell are Rebecca Rudman, who works for Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.); Jennifer Guy of the House Armed Services Committee staff; Brian Clifford of the staff of Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.); Charles Elliott, who works for Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.); and Robert Boland, of Gallegly’s staff.

Lawmakers, Capitol Police square off on the gridiron
After votes are cast tonight, a bipartisan group of lawmakers (otherwise known as the Inmates) will square off against the Capitol Police (a.k.a. the Guards) in an evening football game on the National Mall. A release on the game says it’s “a way to say thank you to the Capitol Police and their families.”

All money raised for the event will go to the Capitol Police Memorial Fund. Families and staff may attend free.

Members who plan to play in the game are largely a younger crew. They include Dave Reichert (R-Wash.), Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.), Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), Bill Shuster (R-Pa.). Kendrick Meek (D-Fla.), Kenny Hulshof (R-Mo.), Gresham Barrett (R-S.C.), Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.), Joe Baca (D-Calif.), Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.), Thaddeus McCotter (R-Mich.), Jim Gerlach (R-Pa.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Robert Brady (D-Pa.) and Harold Ford Jr. (D-Tenn.).

For Nancy Murkowski, being Alaska’s first lady isn’t easy
Nancy Murkowski, wife of Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski (R) and mother of Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R), was in town recently to speak at a luncheon at the Monocle. She was here with a number of first ladies, such as Kim Henry, wife of Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry (D), and Hope Taft, wife of Ohio Gov. Bob Taft (R).

The subject matter was an at-risk youth program entailing a five-month boot camp and 12 months of mentoring by a retired military officer.

“Our whole point was to make known to other spouses of governors that we need to get the program going in other states,” she said.

The program’s funding depends on 60 percent from the federal government and 40 percent from the state. “We hope to get more money in appropriations,” Murkowski said.

Too bad her daughter doesn’t sit on the Appropriations Committee, but the Murkowskis are tight with a former head of the panel, Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska).

Murkowski noted that life hasn’t calmed down since her husband left the Senate for the gubernatorial post. “The demands on my time are incredible,” she said.

“When you’re a Senate spouse, you do what you like. [But now] you’re on the road a lot. They are always asking you to be honorary chairman of this or that. You don’t get to do fooling-around stuff as much.”

Picking award recipients was a breeze, says former Rep
Perhaps it was an attempt to promote harmony in hard times. Whatever the reason, former Rep. Tim Roemer (D-Ind.), who chairs the board of the Center for National Policy, believes that giving Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and John Warner (R-Va.) awards on behalf of the center earlier this month was a smart choice.

“At a time when so many people are not believing in the power and the effectiveness of government, there are two people that have been effective and powerful,” Roemer said in a call to ITK. “They are two people who are known in their respective states and might be better known in the other states in the years ahead.”

The award ceremony was held last week at the Hyatt and was catered by the hotel. “The food will be pretty much delicious hotel food, but the speaking will be sizzling,” he said, referring to speeches by McCain and Warner.

Past recipients of the award include Sens. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.). Roemer said McCain stood out because of his interest in Iraq policy and Warner’s effective work in budget policy and early education make him a clear winner.

As for how the board chooses the award recipients, Roemer said, “It’s not like the academy awards, where you have envelopes, or like with the pope when black smoke goes up. We do this in a civilized, bipartisan way.”

Henry Salley, 40, worked as a computer consultant. He is survived by his wife and their two sons, ages 5 and 2.

Contributions can be made to the Jack and Reid Salley Educational Fund, c/o Citibank, FSB, 1101 Pennsylvania Ave., Suite 1050, Washington, DC 20004.