softball
07-18-2009, 11:07 PM
you get to feel important again......
Once he roamed the streets, moving from shelter to shelter. Now, Oliver Gomes rubs shoulders with Washington's elite. http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/POLITICS/07/13/line.standers/art.oliver.cnn.jpg Oliver Gomes says working in the halls of Congress gave him the motivation and money to get off the streets.
http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/img/2.0/content/in_the_news/left_gray_btn.gif (http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/07/13/line.standers/index.html#)
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http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/img/2.0/global/pic_changer/next.gif (http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/07/13/line.standers/index.html#)
http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/img/2.0/mosaic/base_skins/baseplate/corner_wire_BL.gif
Squatting next to a white wall outside a Senate hearing room recently with a cell phone glued to his ear, Gomes is being paid to hold a place in line for a lobbyist at a hearing on the climate-change bill.
Gomes -- 6 feet tall, with long curly hair pulled back, wearing a polo shirt and shorts -- is one of the contracted men and women holding places in line for this hearing. Many have been waiting since midnight to ensure their clients a seat.
By 9 a.m., more than 100 people are lined up for the hearing. Only 10 seats are available to the public, and the first 10 spots are held by line-standers. The rest are shut out.
Though the practice is controversial, Gomes said it has lifted him from life on the street.
"Sitting in the halls of Congress made me feel a little better," he said. "It elevated me and made me feel like, well, you know, maybe I do belong here, maybe I can contribute even at that little minute level." http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/img/2.0/mosaic/tabs/video.gif Watch Gomes tell his story » (http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/07/13/line.standers/index.html#cnnSTCVideo)
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/07/13/line.standers/index.html
Once he roamed the streets, moving from shelter to shelter. Now, Oliver Gomes rubs shoulders with Washington's elite. http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/POLITICS/07/13/line.standers/art.oliver.cnn.jpg Oliver Gomes says working in the halls of Congress gave him the motivation and money to get off the streets.
http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/img/2.0/content/in_the_news/left_gray_btn.gif (http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/07/13/line.standers/index.html#)
1 of 2
http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/img/2.0/global/pic_changer/next.gif (http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/07/13/line.standers/index.html#)
http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/img/2.0/mosaic/base_skins/baseplate/corner_wire_BL.gif
Squatting next to a white wall outside a Senate hearing room recently with a cell phone glued to his ear, Gomes is being paid to hold a place in line for a lobbyist at a hearing on the climate-change bill.
Gomes -- 6 feet tall, with long curly hair pulled back, wearing a polo shirt and shorts -- is one of the contracted men and women holding places in line for this hearing. Many have been waiting since midnight to ensure their clients a seat.
By 9 a.m., more than 100 people are lined up for the hearing. Only 10 seats are available to the public, and the first 10 spots are held by line-standers. The rest are shut out.
Though the practice is controversial, Gomes said it has lifted him from life on the street.
"Sitting in the halls of Congress made me feel a little better," he said. "It elevated me and made me feel like, well, you know, maybe I do belong here, maybe I can contribute even at that little minute level." http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/img/2.0/mosaic/tabs/video.gif Watch Gomes tell his story » (http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/07/13/line.standers/index.html#cnnSTCVideo)
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/07/13/line.standers/index.html