What in particular are they involved in within the state that’s not handled by the White House office? I’m sure they work with “lesser” issues within the states, but I actually have no idea what they do. Any dopers out there with some wisdom?
Do you mean the offices that Senators and Representatives keep in their home states? Those are where the Senators work from when they are back home - meeting with constituents and local officials. Some have multiple offices depending on the size of the state, though they might not all be open full time. Most importantly it is where the Senator’s staff works, even when they are in DC. Senators have staffers both in DC, and in their home state. A lot of meetings are actually handled by the staff, who either can just handle minor issues, or pass along the important stuff to the Senator.
You think the White House has significant direct interaction with anything at a local level? I’m puzzled by this sentence.
I assume he meant “Capitol Hill.” WreckingCrew has the right answer, anyway.
I once met with two staffpeople in one of my U.S. senator’s local offices on an issue of concern to a local nonprofit of which I’m a member. Going to a local office is convenient for people who don’t want to travel all the way to Washington but who still want face time with Senate or House staff, and it allows the legislator to better keep a finger on the political pulse of the city or region.
Plus, the regional offices handle almost all the constituency work. If you have a problem with, say, your Social Security or VA benefits or any federal agency, it’s generally the local office that is going to handle it.
BINGO.
My brother had huge trouble dealing with his SSDI application. It was the staff at his Senator’s regional office that managed to cut through the red tape with just a couple phone calls.