How long does Congress sit for in a year? In the 109th Congress the House of Representatives sat for 102 days in 2006. This seems a very short time for a house in a legislature to be sitting. (The House of Commons is in session for a total of eight and a half to nine months in a year, as is the House of Lords) How is the length of time determined and what does the House do the rest of the time ? Does the Senate sit any longer?
It is up to the House of Representatives to determine how long each session is, when it will take breaks, and when it will resume. Under Republican leadership, the standard work week was from Tuesday late afternoon or evening until Thursday morning, a one and one-half day work week. The Democrats have already announced that they will be going back to the old practice of a 3 full day work week, from Tuesday morning until Thursday evening.
If I remembr correctly, the 109th Congress had the shortest work season since the "Do Nothing Congress" (1947-48) during Harry Truman's presidency.* The 80th Congress was also a Republican-led one. The label of "Do Nothing Congress" was used extensively by Truman, and, even though all polls predicted a Dewey landslide and even though two parties split off from the Democrats (Strom Thurmond's Dixicrats*, whose primary goal was preventing any civil rights legislation anf keeping the Jim Crow laws in place, and the Progressive Party, led by Henry Wallace, who opposed the Cold War, the Marshall Plan and big business and campaigned to end discrimination against blacks and women, backed a minimum wage and called for the elimination of the House Committee on Un-American Activities), Truman won, and the Democratcs also regained control of both the House and the Senate.
*According to Wikipedia, the 80th "Do nothing Congress" met more often than the 109th Congress.
** These Dixiecrats became Republicans and ended the solid support that the Democrats held in the South.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: DorianGreyed,
Posts: 17200 | Location: Lincoln Place, Granite City, IL, USA | Registered: 06-03-02
And we thought that we were making progress when we ended all-night sittings .It had been quite common for MPs to still be debating and voting in the early hours.
If they are doing only a day and a half a week in the House what are the legislators doing the rest of the time?
The U.S.Constitution states in Section 4.."The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year,and such meeting shall be on the first Monday in December,unless they shall by law appoint a different day".
Wouldn't that be great if they only met once a year...think of how little damage they could do in only one day!!!
"If they are doing only a day and a half a week in the House what are the legislators doing the rest of the time?"
When Nancy Pelosi announced that the Democrats were going to extend the working week, one Republican Congressman complained that doing so would mean he wouldn't get to spend time with his family. He represents Virginia.
Many say that they are "connecting with" their constituents. I guess in many cases, that means that they are forced to go to private country clubs and find their constituents out on the golf course. You have to admire people who take their work that seriously. Poor Tom Delay and some friends of his even went to Scotland and looked for constituents at St. Andrew's. Now THAT'S dedication. (In fairness, that is probably where many of one party's base is, on the golf course of some private club.)
Posts: 17200 | Location: Lincoln Place, Granite City, IL, USA | Registered: 06-03-02
Originally posted by DorianGreyed: one Republican Congressman complained that doing so would mean he wouldn't get to spend time with his family.
In Britain, when a politician says " I want to spend more time with my family" that is a cliched euphemism for "I am is resigning because of the scandal"! When one philandering MP resigned because of some sex scandal another said in the House that the man was 'the first MP to resign in order to spend more time with someone else's family'
So spending more family time would be encouraged here !
David Broder: Anyone that wants the presidency so much that he'll spend two years organizing and campaigning for it is not to be trusted with the office.
I guess that could apply equally to congressional office.
.It had been quite common for MPs to still be debating and voting in the early hours.
