For Congress, Better Results Start with a Better Schedule

Congress has barely managed to meet important deadlines in recent years. There seemingly is never enough time to complete even their most basic functions. Since being a member of Congress is a full-time job, why are things always left to the last minute? Part of the answer may lie in the legislative calendar.

The House recently released its official 2024 calendar, which reflects an increased number of days members will work in Washington and a decreased number of days members can travel compared to 2023. This change reflects a key recommendation of the House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress. In its 2020 report, the Committee noted that “while many factors lead to missed deadlines and gridlock, a prominent suggestion for reform is requiring members to spend more time in Washington working on behalf of the American people.”

However, BPC proposes an alternative calendar that 1) further reduces members’ travel time while also increasing the time available for legislative work in DC; 2) maintains the traditional August recess; and 3) provides ample time in their districts for constituent work and campaigns. Our calendar would make the schedule more efficient for members and provide more time for Congress to complete its basic duties.

First, some context. In 2018, the most recent election year not impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic,  members of the House were traveling back-and-forth to their districts more days (62) than they had in Washington (59). Legislative work will and can be done on travel days, but they are necessarily truncated and leave less time for robust deliberation, let alone constituent meetings, party caucus or conference business, and relationship building. During election years, it is typical to expect members to spend significant time in their districts fulfilling their representational duties—meeting with constituents, visiting businesses, and assessing the state of infrastructure firsthand— while also being home for campaign events. The 2018 calendar, shown below, provided 22 weeks dedicated to district work, represented in grey. The workdays spent in Washington are represented in blue and travel days are in red.

However, the 2018 calendar amounted to only two full days per week for members’ legislative duties in the Capitol. Those duties include attending committee meetings and voting on the House floor. Since each member is usually on five or more committees and subcommittees, the limited days they have in Washington cause critically high scheduling conflicts and make it incredibly difficult for our representatives to be fully present for witness testimony, nuanced policy discussions, and opportunities to foster bipartisan relations.

The official 2024 calendar, shown below, affords members an estimated 57 full workdays in Washington, about the same as 2018. There is a slight decrease in estimated travel days— 56 —in 2024 compared to 2018.

BPC’s 2024 proposal is for a one-week on, one-week off rhythm with three full days in Washington when the House is in session. This would give members 70 full days—an increase of 13 days from the announced 2024 calendar—and only 38 travel days, a significant decrease from both the 2018 and 2024 calendars. In addition to reducing travel time, this calendar would provide members with a total of 31 weeks in their districts compared to the 25 weeks proposed in their current 2024 calendar.

The role of a member of Congress is split into two main responsibilities: to represent their constituents and to govern effectively. Of course, members do not stop working once they leave Washington. In just the last 11 months, however, Congress has found itself up against deadlines to avert a default on the nation’s debt and twice to keep the government from shutting down—once in September and again in November. In this instance, the House was forced to abandon its planned calendar, cancel district work periods, and meet for 10 consecutive weeks, turning the House into a “pressure cooker.” The outcome, a continuing resolution, set up new deadlines in January and February of next year to allow more time for a more long-term solution. It is clear that Congress is struggling to address policy priorities and even to meet the basic responsibilities it has. The House can use its time more effectively with an improved calendar for 2025.