Rosie O’Donnell to the Senate

Actress Rosie O’Donnell was in the Senate Wednesday to promote a bill that would fund mentoring services for foster children.

Dressed in all black and traveling with only a few assistants, the comedian was pushing a bill by Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) that would provide a rebate to recent college graduates’ student loans if they offered to mentor children in foster care. The bill would provide for 500,000 children, O’Donnell said.
“We’re hoping to get a lot of support and draw attention to the fact that there’s 500,000 kids out there who need help,” she said.

Asked if she was receiving a favorable reaction from senators, O’Donnell displayed some of her trademark humor.

“It’s my first time here–I guess it’s favorable. Do people throw fruit usually?” she asked. “Everybody’s been nice. It’s not like when you fight for gun control, where there’s an active lobby against it. There’s no lobby against foster care, I’m happy to say.”

–J. Taylor Rushing