Name a subject that’s in the headlines, and – chances are – Steve Schultz can discuss it. In detail. From different vantage points.
As a legal fellow at the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Schultz, ’15, helps minority members prepare for hearings and issue reports on topics as varied as embassy security, the pricing of prescription medicines and allegations that Planned Parenthood sells tissue from aborted fetuses.
The committee, which is the primary investigative body of the U.S. House of Representatives, has very broad jurisdiction. And since ranking minority member, Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, and the other Democratic members have to get up to speed on myriad topics, Schultz is one of the attorneys responsible for helping them do just that.
Given the fast pace of technological advances, high-tech issues that fascinate Schultz often come into play. Schultz researches these and any topics that come under scrutiny, crafting questions that committee members on the Democratic side may wish to ask at hearings.
“We give them the tools they need to hold an efficient hearing,” he said. “It’s like living current events.”
Although partisan dysfunctionality has brought the reputation of Congress to new lows in the eyes of many Americans, Schultz maintains a sunny outlook.
“It comes in cycles,” he said. “Ten years from now, it could be a very different situation.”
In the meantime, Schultz savors the freedom to work on diverse topics and play a part – however small – in history.
“It’s amazing to be in the legislative branch and be able to have a fingerprint on a congressional hearing,” he said. “Even if it’s just a memo, it’s building something for the future. I wouldn’t be able to have that opportunity anywhere else.”
Recent projects included a committee report on the Secret Service which traced problems at the troubled agency to funding shortfalls that resulted from the 2011 budget sequestration and preparing for a hearing on Internet-connected cars that will spur the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to devise new safety guidelines for the automotive industry.
Schultz credits the Co-op Program with helping him land the fellowship, since his placement with the committee clearly opened the door.
“Drexel can take you to places you would never expect,” said Schultz, who had planned to complete a concentration in Business and Entrepreneurship Law and launch a career at a law firm when he first arrived at law school.
But after taking Cybersecurity and the Law and National Security Law courses with adjunct Professor Harvey Rishikof and then launching the Law and National Security Society with classmate Ian Mandell, Schultz scrubbed that particular mission.
“I can work with technology, and I can go after something that I find intellectually cool,” said Schultz, who gushes about being able to learn about everything from advances in medicine to space travel at Capitol Hill briefings.
Currently paid through the law school’s Public Service Fellowship Program, Schultz hopes the post will eventually lead to a permanent position as a committee staff attorney.
“This is an amazing opportunity I could not turn down,” he said. “To be a part of history and to do it because I believe I can make a difference – that’s really important to me.”