Experience for me and, you know, i just hope im a role model for other young women. At what point did you say im going to run for congress . Ms. Stefanik thats a great question. I decided to run for congress after the 2012 election. I worked on governor romneys campaign. I was head of debate prep for paul ryan. And i was very disappoint in the outcome of the 2012 election but i spent a lot of time thinking about how the party needs to run, new generation candidates, and needs to be able to pass our message to young voters, particularly young women. In new york state, i grew up in my family, Small Business, my parents started as a kid. And its gotten harder to grow as a business in new york than it was over 20 years ago when they started. We need policies to promote entrepreneurialism and innovation and economic growth. But we need to have a new generation of leadership in congress. So after 2012, i started working at my familys business which i grew up around and i started as a completely noname candidate taking on a seeded incumbent. I made the rounds with large districts, community leaders, local elected officials, business leaders, to ask what they were looking for in congress. And at first blush, i think that many of them were shocked by my age. I was 29 at the time. And that was an impossibility for a 29yearold to even be remotely possible to win an election, a primary and then a general election. But i turned my youth from a weakness into a strength. And just really embraced the fact that i was a young candidate. And it actually worked. And a district that borders vermont and canada, how big is it . Ms. Stefanik the district is 12 counties, one of the biggest districts on the east coast. Its mountainous terrain. The adirondack mountains, which are beautiful, are right in the center of the district. In terms of the population. The population is sort of in a circle around the district. It goes from Saratoga County to the Canadian Border and plats barring is south of montreal all the way to watertown. I do a lot of time doing retail grassroots politics. I put 100,000 miles total on the truck i drove. Thats a lot of drive time thats a lot of hard work, getting around going to local events with five, ten people, especially at the beginning. What did you learn about you during the process . Ms. Stefanik i think any candidate that runs for office and has the courage to put their name on a ballot and step into the arena, you learn a tremendous amount about yourself. You really have to turn inward and question why are you doing this, what you can bring to the table to make your case. Because particularly early on in my campaign, i was going alone to events. And was introducing myself to strangers and that takes, you know, something within your gut and that inner drive and a sense of doing it beyond yourself and for a greater purpose and a sense of mission in the campaign. So i learned a lot. There are highs and there are lows on every campaign. And it really tests the business that they still own and operate. Where did you grow up . And tell us about your parents. Ms. Stefanik i was born in albany county, upstate new yorkers. My family had a home in essex county since i was 3. So i spent a lot of time growing up between albany and essex county so up and down the northway. And my dad actually started off in the plywood and lumber business after he graduated from high school. He worked his way up first in the warehouse. He was an on the road sales person when i was born. He managed a larger distribution company. And when i was 7, my parents started their own business. And it was basically to focus on the local Small Business customers and bringing the highest quality products with the best customer service. So 20 years plus later, we have over 1,000 Small Business customers. My brother is deeply involved in the business, i have a younger brother whos 5 1 2 years younger. You know, when you grow up in that type of environment and you see that type of risk that your parents go through when they risk really everything to start a business from scratch. And it was very, very difficult. And theyre still, as any Small Business owner will tell you, theres still tough times and there are times when its a bit easier. But i think that work ethic that instilled with me and seeing how it pays off when you put your all into something and you focus on customer service. Because a lot of what we do in congress is constituent services. And i try to treat that like a business in the sense that its customer service. We have to respond very quickly to constituents, but i really credit my parents with the values that they instilled with me, just the strong work ethic. But also in the belief that you can achieve anything. You know, my parents didnt have the opportunity to graduate from college. Theyre both very smart and very accomplished and they are from big families and it just wasnt economically feasible. And they made sure they invested in my education and wanted to give me better opportunities than theyve had. What does your little brother think of his big sister . Ms. Stefanik he would be laughing if he heard that question when we watches this. He is a big supporter of me running for office. Hes not political. He enjoys golfing doing a great job at my familys businesses, were opposites, in my respects, but he is a very supportive brother and i was proud to have him on the stage when i won in both in the primary and in november. And theres a great picture of us hugging on which i think part of it ran in the New York Times, which is pretty neat. What about your mom and dad . Are they political . Did you talk politics growing up . Did your dad talk about what it was like to grow a business and deal with taxes and government regulation and the rest . So theyre active citizens. Theyre typical of Small Business owners in this country. They pay close attention to how policies affect their business, whether its regulatory policies, tax policies, even infrastructure issues because were a distribution company. Our trucks are on the road five days oh out it was week. So were not a traditional political family in the sense that neither have run for office, theyre not on local committees, but they are strong voters. They always voted and theyre civicminded. And we did talk a lot about the challenges of running a business and government overreach. New york state is not a particularly friendly state to do business. In fact, we rank number 50 in friendliest states to do business. And that was something growing up that i didnt necessarily here the specific political implications about we like this candidate or we like the other candidate, it was more of we ought to be supporting policies that will help Small Businesses grow. Why are you a republican . Ms. Stefanik im a republican because i believe in limited government. I believe the best way to grow the economy is by Small Businesses and entrepreneurs. I believe the individuals are the best people to make the decisions. I think republican principles help the vast majority of all americans achieve the american dream. And i believe in the constitution. You went to harvard to study what . Ms. Stefanik i went to harvard to study government. I was involved in the institute of politics, an undergraduate organization found in the memory of president john f. Ken dip and its bipartisan or nonpartisan. The mission is to encourage young people to get involved in Public Policy and be engaged civically. So i spent a lot of time outside of the classroom working with other students a the institute of politics and when i was a freshman, particularly amazing experience i had, the institute of politics hosts fellows at harvard. One of the fellows was the fred sorenson, john f. Kennedys speech writer. As a student, you could apply to be their liaison and work with them. I was one of six that got to work with ted sorry renson for a smesever. For someone like me, it was or for any student frankly, to be able to work with someone and hear them tell stories of such an historic time that i had grown up reading about in history books it was a very formattive moment for me. Because particularly he worked for a very young president. Getting the words to president john f. Ken dip, the inaugural address. Profiles in courage and the famous speeches president kennedy delivered. Ms. Stefanik absolutely. You came in washington to work in the administration. How did that come about . I didnt have a job until the week i graduated. Im sure that made the parents very nervous at the time. I graduated 2006 in college. Many of my friends went the route of we get recruited very early in finance and consulting jobs and that wasnt the right fit for me. I know i wanted to do something involved in Public Policy. So i interviewed at think tanks in washington, i interviewed at various parts of the administration at president george w. Bush. A friend of mine who had graduated two years earlier than me, a great role model, shes a good friend. Shes definitely my mentor in college, she told me about a staff position at the white house that was open. I didnt get the first staff position i was passed on. A second one i opened up. I was offered the job a few days before i graduated. And on my first day of work, the monday after my graduation i went in to meet the new head of the domestic policy counsel, carl stinsmeister who had just gone in a month earlier. I was going in to meet him as the new staff assistant sort of the lowest member on the ladder right out of college. He was looking for a west wing aid. And it was shocking at the time. Because typically before you work in the west wing, you had to work your way up. Those jobs werent for people out of college. He took a huge risk on me. Hes from upstate new york, and interestingly, hes an amateur woodworker. I talked to him about my familys business. We hit it off. I worked under him for a year. Then i moved downstairs and worked for the deputy chief of staff of policy joel caplan. First time you walked into the white house as a staff assistant, what was your reaction . Ms. Stefanik i was very nervous. Because even when youre on staff, particularly the first day when i was going in to meet my boss, you sit in the west wing lobby. I think anybody will tell you this who has sat in the west wing lobby for a type of Job Interview or any type of meeting, its a very nerve racking experience and its an incredibly aweinspiring experience. I remember thinking to myself, i cant believe im sitting in the west wing of the white house and i wouldnt have imagined that a week earlier or even two weeks earlier. Its a moment that you pinch yourself. And Ken Duberstein who i interned for gave me a great piece of advice. He said no matter what youre doing in life or what job you have pinch yourself every day grow to west wing because its the peoples house and its a true privilege to work there. And i did that. It was a very formative experience for me. Hes your colleague but in 2012, you helped prepare paul ryan for the debates, the debate he had with Vice President joe biden. How did you go about that . Ms. Stefanik that was one of my most challenging jobs ive had. It was a real privilege to work with someone like paul. No one knows more about the budget, for example, than paul ryan. And as a staffer what was interesting to me is that president romneys team not president romney, then governor romney, the president ial campaign he had gone through many debates. Pauls debate, theres only one Vice President ial debate historically, he hasnt had a debate since the first congressional race. So i worked with the Romney Campaign to make sure that paul had the preparation he needed but what was interesting is it was very unlike the way they prepared governor romney just in terms of the briefing materials and it was a lot of time spent with paul. It was eight full mock debates that we would work for the standin, for Vice President joe biden, played by ted olson. We would prep him and have specific questions and sort of scenarios and play them out. But paul was very hands on. You know, he edited all of the materials. It was a constant work in progress. And by the end of it, the briefing materials had an entire briefcase. It was a 40pound case of briefing materials that would go on the plane every day and as we were flying to the various campaign stops, paul would practice various parts of the debates, sometimes he would review the materials. But it was a great example for me particularly because paul was so was younger than i was when he first ran for office. It was truly inspirational. And pauls encouragement when i told him after the election that i was contemplating, you know, what do you think about if i ran for congress . Paul just said he completely encouraged me and i really credit that as a turning point. On the night of the debate, where were you . Ms. Stefanik i was actually at Center College with paul. I was there in the back room. In kentucky. In kentucky. And i was right in the room right afterwards when secret service and paul and his wife went to the room afterwards. And i thought he did a great job. Let me ask you about congress itself. How do you structure your day here when youre in session. The bells go off sometimes when youre in votes. You have meetings with constituents. Whats your routine. Ms. Stefanik great question. I think its changed from when i first got here. I think the first few months in congress is pretty overwhelming just the breadth of the issues that you deal with. My foremost mission is making sure my constituents are well remitted. We have an eye on constituent services on a daily basis. And that goes all the way from me down to staff assistants and internals. Were very responsive to all of the stitch went. I get morning clips from all of the local news outlets in my district. And because its such a geographically large district, thats three different media markets with a number of dailies and weeklies and blogs. So, you know, i make sure that the whole staff reads the clips. And then my days start very early. Mainly congressional womens softball practice. 7 00 a. M. , its a great bipartisan way to get to know women from both sides of the aisle. I enjoy that. I focus on the Committee Hearings. The House Armed Services committee, the education and workforce committee. At the beginning of every week, i have a meeting with my legislative team to go over the week ahead, what legislation is pending, potential letters or legislation that i letters that i want to sign or bills i want to cosponsor. Bills im going to introduce. And, you know, the days are very busy. I have a lot of stitch wents, mauves members do, that are part of groups or associations or schools that im visiting in washington and i always like to personally welcome them even if i have a Committee Hearing ill have a representative and raise any issues that they have, but its a busy schedule. Its not easy, also not cheap. How much did you raise in 2014 and have you started the process for 2016 . Ms. Stefanik i raised 1. 7 million. And this district is its a very large district. I had a very competitive primary and generale election. And in both cases i was running against a selffunder. I prided myself on the low dollars we had in the district. Funded at the grassroots level. I start i raised a great number in the First Quarter and it shows the support of the investment of people within the community. They believe in what youre doing and they want to make sure that, you know this seat is protected. Weve gotten a lot of support. In her announcement, though, in new york city this year, Hillary Clinton said theres way too much money in politics. She need to fix the system, point it to Citizens United the. What are you thoughts . Is there too much money in politics . How do you correct it . Ms. Stefanik making a donation is a constitutional right in terms of freedom of speech and i think we need to have more transparency in our system today. Some states across the country have 100 transparency. You can donate 1 up to 1,000 or more than that. But its disclosed to the voters. So i believe in transparency. I think thats an important step to take in the right direction. But in terms of Hillary Clinton shes actively fundraising for super her super pac to support her campaign. So i think as a candidate, you ought to walk the walk of the and talk the talk. And shes just not doing that right now. Whats your relationship like with Speaker Boehner and the Committee Chairs and the leadership in the house . Ms. Stefanik i got a lot of support from the leadership, from the speaker who came to the district to support me. Who has been very supportive of my committee assignments. I spoke to him early to ensure that i get an appointments to the House Armed Services committee and education and workforce, particularly the House Armed Services is very competitive for freshmen. It was so important for me to have a seat at the table to protect and strengthen ft. Drum which is home of the 10th mountain division, the most deployed unit in the u. S. Army. But and in terms of the Committee Chairs, i also have a lot of support from chairman thornberry whos head of Armed Services committee. Im the vice chair of the readiness subcommittee which is a great position to have as a freshman. Its for freshmen to be subCommittee Chairs on the Armed Services committee. And i worked well with the edit and workforce committee. You know, i think that the leadership is very supportive and they understand that im not a typical member of congress in the sense that the average age of a member of congress is 58. Im 30. So i sliced that in half, pretty much. Im younger than some of their kids. But theyre very respectful. They treat me as a peer. And they understand that the district i represent is very independent. So i feel a very comfortable voting on behalf of my district, which