Yes, indeed, two weeks ago, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Virginia, released the 2014 working schedule for the House of Representatives. Down nearly three weeks from last year, the House will work—drum roll please—113 days next year. No, this is not a typographical error. Your patriotic, dedicated, democratically elected members of Congress, while enjoying a cushy $174,000 salary and gold-plated healthcare benefits, will work for a total of 113 days next year.
You’re probably looking at this figure in disbelief or frustration—rightfully so. However, this is sadly normal. In 2010, the House spent 116 days in session, and in 2008, it was merely 100. This year, in fact, was an anomaly. After canceling two weeks of recess to attempt to deal with the government shutdown, Congress rolled up its perfectly pressed Brooks Brothers sleeves and got down to work 133 days this year. So why is this acceptable? After all, once we graduate, we’ll be expected to work 40 hours a week, five days a week until we’re nearly dead. Even now, most of us work nights or weekends in addition to our full-time academic commitment to, you know, eat and pay rent as we tumble further into college debt.
My friends, these are the ways of Washington. Every two years, we elect senators and representatives—people we wholeheartedly believe in – to make change for us in the Capitol. When they get there, though, our leaders lose much of their accountability and responsibility. They fall into the Washingtonian system, a system that benefits them, but not the people they represent. Part of the system is this egregious congressional work week. Members of Congress fly into Washington from their districts Monday night, work during the day Tuesday through Thursday, attend a few fundraisers and political dinners at night and return home for the perpetual re-election campaign Friday. When they’re working in the Capitol, they spend their time trying to score political points by screwing over their opponent—giving vitriolic floor speeches, filibustering presidential nominees, attempting to embarrass administration officials in hearings and failing to vote on legislation passed in the opposite house. And then they take a couple weeks off here and there, including the entire month of August—all on us, the taxpayers. It’s no wonder Congress failed to pass a budget last month.
How can our representatives possibly find the time to put a budget together, much less run the country, if they work only 113 days a year? Indeed, these are the inevitable ways of Washington. While we’ve lived under these dreadful political conventions for some time, there are mechanisms that already exist and some we can put in place to solve Washington’s accountability woes. To shore up the work-week problem, we should mandate that congressmen and women work a full schedule so that they may faithfully fulfill their sworn duties as elected officials. Of course, it isn’t totally out of the question for them to take time away from Washington to hear from their constituents in the districts to which they are obliged. Perhaps we can implement a reasonable schedule where our representatives spend several five-day weeks in Washington and then one week at home. Forced to be in a room with each other for more than a mere 113 days, we’d expect that they would eventually do something productive.
Alas, to change the ways of Washington and to undo the tides of political elitism is too much to ask of our leaders. The people don’t create the rules of the system—our benefactors in Washington do. Under this system, our leaders, entrusted with enormous power, continuously fail to do their jobs while they are consistently re-elected, reaping all the benefits of their own creation. The law of self-interest dictates that such a system will never reform itself on its own. Thus this change cannot be from the top down; it must be from the bottom up.
As taxpayers, we are the bosses of our representatives, and every two years, we’re given the chance to do something extraordinary—we have the opportunity to conduct job reviews. We have the right to say that our representatives have failed in their job responsibilities and that it’s time for someone new. Maybe you’ve heard of these; they’re called elections. With the right to hire or fire as we see fit, here’s my advice to you: Stop letting these people take advantage of you. Stop choosing representatives who fail to be accountable. Stop acquiescing to the system. Self-interested politicians won’t fix the problem; only normal citizens like yourself can. You have the power, so stop or let the ways of Washington continue.
How else do you think we should hold our congressmen and women accountable? Do you think they should be required to work more than just 113 days next year? Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
