Back-room deals struck in the grey corridors of Washington office blocks aren't nearly as glamorous as beautiful words delivered to the illustrious Houses of Congress, but they are a lot more effective.
With 17 miles of corridors it was easily the biggest office building in the world, and yet the five-story structure was barely visible from the capital on the other side of the Potomac River.
One floor down from Mr Prewitt's office, somewhere at the end of a maze of grimy corridors, new carpets and computers have been installed for the comfort and convenience of a brand-new Census Monitoring Board.