WASHINGTON - Standing outside a Capitol Hill lunch for her fellow Republican members-elect, incoming Wyoming Rep. Cynthia Lummis says she's learning a lot about some of the stranger aspects of being in Congress.

The strangest? Ethics rules.

Lummis said she and other freshmen-to-be were confounded by the nuances of what members are and are not allowed to do - what events they can and cannot attend, for example - and how many exceptions there are.

"It's counterintuitive," she said Tuesday. "There will be a rule with 20 exceptions … It is bizarre, to say the least."

Ethics rules are only one of the many things Lummis and her colleagues are learning about in this week's new member orientation. The more than 50 incoming Republican and Democratic House members are taking advice from current members and learning how to set up an office and hire a staff.

Lummis, 54, beat Democrat Gary Trauner in a bruising race to replace retiring Republican Rep. Barbara Cubin just two weeks ago. She said she harbors no hard feelings from the election and is ready to start working on issues that matter most to the state, including energy, taxes and agriculture.

She doesn't know what committees she will sit on yet, but she said she has been courted by Texas Rep. Lamar Smith, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee. Lummis, a lawyer, could be the only GOP woman on that panel.

She said that could be a favorable committee assignment if it were paired with another committee that is more relevant to Wyoming issues - the Natural Resources Committee, for example.

She said the House Energy and Commerce committee and the Ways and Means committee - prestigious panels that accept few freshmen - are longer-term goals.

"The goal here is to place oneself in a position to contribute in a meaningful way, and then find some more entrepreneurial ways, sort of outside of the classic structure of the Congress, to contribute in meaningful ways, and by the same token make sure that Wyoming's voice is heard on energy and economic issues," she said.

Lummis said Republican freshmen will also be tasked with helping bring the party back after losses in Congress and the White House.

"I've noticed that there is a lot of enthusiasm for the future of the party on the part of the freshmen because we feel we've bottomed out, so to speak, and we're in the process of rebuilding and we're in the unique position of being able to help rebuild the party, which is an exciting place to be," she said.

As for lessons learned, she said Republicans could improve the way they articulate the party's views.

"The Democrats did a better job of that in 2008 and in 2006," she said. "So communications will be key. At the same time it will be very important that the Republican Party shape legislation and prevent bad legislation."

Getting aquatinted with Washington also includes more practical tasks - including finding a place to live.

Lummis said she is looking for apartments with the help of her daughter, Annaliese Wiederspahn, who worked as a spokeswoman during the campaign. She said they are looking on the Internet and talking to people she knows to try to find a place in Washington's pricey real estate market.

"The prices are incredible," Lummis said.