“This place was never built for us”: What Brittany Pettersen’s Congress story means for students with jobs, kids and bills

DENVER. U.S. Rep. Brittany Pettersen said Congress was not built for people like her.

“This place was never built for us,” Pettersen said during a DemFest forum with U.S. Rep. Jason Crow.

FoxTalk did not interview Pettersen directly. But her remarks about motherhood, power and Congress carried a student-life message for anyone trying to enter politics while also balancing jobs, kids and bills.

Pettersen talked about giving birth while serving in Congress and trying to vote while caring for a newborn. She said the institution still works in ways that make it harder for working parents and people without wealth to serve.

“The barriers that we face as regular people trying to do this work is very real,” Pettersen said.

She said Congress is still shaped around people who do not face the same pressures as working families.

“It is a place that is built for men and for wealthy individuals, and not for working families and definitely not for moms,” Pettersen said.

For students, especially working and commuting students, that point reaches beyond Congress. Public life often asks people to show up at times, places and prices that do not fit people with shifts, classes, child care, transportation problems or rent due.

Earlier at DemFest, FoxTalk asked Democratic organizers how they reach students who work, commute or do not feel politics changes anything for them. The answers showed that political access is not only about whether someone is allowed into the room. It is also about whether the room was designed for them in the first place.

Noah Lubert, deputy treasurer for the Democratic Party of Denver and former secretary of the Denver Young Democrats, said politics can be difficult to access for young people.

“I myself, as a young person, I just got out of college,” Lubert said. “Politics is pretty inaccessible for me.”

Lubert said he works in the service industry and often works late nights, making it harder to attend political events. He also said some young people are priced out of paid events.

That is where Pettersen’s comments connect to students. Her story was about Congress, but the larger issue is the same one many students face: who gets to participate when participation requires time, money, flexibility and backup support.

Pettersen said she tried to change House rules to allow a limited proxy-voting option for new parents who could not safely travel to Washington. She said she had to fly to D.C. with her newborn son for a critical budget vote.

“I knew I was faced with, my constituents needed me and my newborn baby needed me,” Pettersen said.

She said her son became the first baby held on the House floor while a member spoke in U.S. history.

Pettersen said the rules need to change so more people can serve and stay.

“We need to change Congress,” Pettersen said.