The Washington Monument will be one of the first things 13-year-old Adam Schane sees after landing in Washington, D.C., this morning — it’s one of the sites he is most excited to visit.
But Adam’s chance to clamber to the top of the towering monument seemed in danger of being lost as lawmakers came close to a government shutdown Friday night, so his mother decided someone had to speak up.
Longmont mother Shalini Schane gained national attention Friday night when President Barack Obama cited a letter she sent him in his remarks on the budget compromise Congress announced less than an hour before the midnight deadline.
“I received a letter from a mother in Longmont, Colorado,” Obama said. “Over the year, her son’s eighth-grade class saved up money and worked on projects so that next week they could take a class trip to Washington, D.C.”
Early last week, Adam had came home upset that half the activities the group had planned for its Washington, D.C., and New York City trip could be canceled if there was a shutdown, Schane said.
So Schane, who is also one of the trip’s chaperones, decided to act. Schane started e-mailing state officials and later decided to move through an alphabetical list of members of Congress.
“This was my moment; this is what I can do,” Schane said. “At least I could say I tried.”
But when she got to the letter D, she decided to “go straight to the top” and drafted a letter for the president.
“I wasn’t trying to say it’s you, it’s you — it’s everybody,” Schane said. “We teach our children to compromise, to share, to solve things together — what a poor example you’re setting.”
Friday morning, Schane got a phone call from a White House intern who told her the president might read part of her letter in future remarks. Schane said the fact that someone had read her letter was reward enough — her voice had been heard.
As Schane and Adam packed for their trip Friday night, they anxiously watched and waited for news of a deal, but when the president started speaking, the two jumped up and down.
“We’re just riding this wave of emotion right now,” Schane said. “It was just amazing.”
Adam said he knew his mom was a “take-action person” but this surprised even him.
“It’s almost unbelievable,” Adam said. “I’m so proud of my mom.”
Obama, who did not identify Schane by name, said the letter asked lawmakers to “get past our petty grievances” and quoted the letter, which read, “Remember the future of this country is not for us. It’s for our children.”
“Today we acted on behalf of our children’s future,” Obama said about the compromise. “I hope they get a chance to look up at the Washington Monument and feel the sense of pride and possibility that defines America.”
Jordan Steffen: 303-954-1794 or jsteffen@denverpost.com
