So I’m sitting here watching a C-SPAN Congressional hearing as I do fairly often – right now the Valerie Plame hearing – and I’ve always wanted to know: who are these people in the background audience? A silly question, I suppose, but…I imagine they’re not just people off the street, are they? I mean, wouldn’t you need a security clearance? Or maybe it’s not as secure as I thought. Plus, there is someone in the way back with an anti-Bush shirt who is trying to be a camera hog. Do they just let crazies into the halls of power?
Like I said, I’m watching the Valerie Plame hearing right now and noticing one particular hottie in the background writing on a pad of paper and seemingly having a great time – a journalist? But when the camera pans out the entire floor is covered in people on their hands and knees with cameras and microphones…so what’s up? Friends? Relatives? VIPs in the government?
Witnesses are generally offered space for any assistants that they may have, so if a cabinet secretary is testifying, he would have a row or two of aides behind him. Likewise, a CEO might bring his lawyers and so forth. On rare occasions, like during the confirmation hearings for a Supreme Court nominee, members of Congress who are not on the committee have seating reserved for them. There are tables reserved for the press.
Beyond that, nearly all hearings are open to the public (excepting closed hearings on classified matters and a few other circumstances). One must go through airport-like security to get into the building, and there are space limitations in hearing rooms, but it’s just like walking down to your courthouse and wanting to watch a trial.
There’s also a kind of neat “only in DC” business here: big important lobbyists will pay people to wait in line for important hearings. It is first-come-first served in all but extraordinary circumstances (Supreme Court nomination hearings, for example, have people get a ticket for admittance, and they can only watch for like 1 hour or so before they are shuffled out and others rotated in), so big important lobbyists have riff-raff stand in line and save a place for them so they can show up at the last minute before the hearing begins.
Thanks for the info Ravenman.