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What It's Like Being a Part of the House of Representatives [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-05-25
There’s this myth that members of Congress don’t work very hard. After all, they usually work from Monday to Thursday, get weeks away from Washington at a time, and get cushy benefits on top of it all! Sounds exactly like another role that gets castigated frequently — teachers. As a teacher, I know the myth of “we don’t work hard” is a difficult one to counter.
I’m hoping today to counter the myth that members of the House don’t put in the work and do their jobs. Granted, some are more effective than others at their jobs but each one has an insane schedule, competing demands, a staff that may or may not be loyal, and to top it all off get very little thanks for doing it all from the general public.
This first resource hits the point home (you should honestly read each resource in its entirety if possible).
In 1994, not long before he was about to make history as the first Speaker of the House of Representatives in 130 years to be ousted in a re-election bid in his home congressional district, Speaker Tom Foley watched a focus group of constituents. The facilitator asked his voters in eastern Washington about the life of a congressman. An ironworker described what he thought dinner would be like at a congressman’s house: a limousine would take him to a mansion in Georgetown and he would be served a sumptuous meal … eating foods the constituent would not recognize and using utensils the average person would not know how to use. Foley was stunned. The gap between his constituents’ understanding and the reality of his daily routine was shocking. He was probably remembering the tuna sandwich he wolfed down for lunch earlier in the day, snuck in between the 13 meetings and 14-hour day he—and most Members of Congress—experienced daily.
If I didn’t live a similar life as a teacher, I’d find it hard to believe what actually goes into the job of being a Congressman. I know that I will have to give up writing here the minute I find a full-time position because my schedule will be insane again. Add in the fact that they have to run for re-election (talk about an evaluation!) every two years and it’s amazing that anyone wants the job to begin with!
I will not only bust the myth that House members don’t work hard, but I’ll try to pull back the curtain to show you what a typical day in Congress is like. Finally, I’ll bust the myth that Congressional recesses are leisure times for incumbents. Join me below the fold.
So you want to join the House of Representatives...
Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL06) meets with supporters after his election win on 4/1/25. He is one of the members of the House who recently joined via a special election.
Prepare for a rigorous interview process (via campaigning), a culture shock when it comes to what the job entails (even if you came from a state legislature), and above all say goodbye to your family for most of the year.
The House of Representatives website describes the various expectations of your time once you get to Congress.
Whether working on Capitol Hill or in his / her congressional district, a representative’s schedule is extremely busy. Often beginning early in the morning with topical briefings, most representatives move quickly among caucus and committee meetings and hearings. They vote on bills, speak with constituents and other groups, and review constituent mail, press clips and various reports. Work can continue into the evening with receptions or fundraising events.
The Life in Congress research paper breaks down the allocation of your time even further.
Despite the perception that Members spend a great deal of time on“politics,” legislators report that most of their work is focused on official activities—primarily public policy and legislation in Washington, D.C., and services for constituents in their districts. • When in Washington, D.C., Members reported spending their timeas follows: ° 35% on “Legislative/Policy Work” ° 17% on “Constituent Services Work” ° 17% on “Political/Campaign Work” ° 9% on “Press/Media Relations” ° 9% with “Family/Friends” ° 7% on “Administrative/Managerial Work” ° 6% on “Personal Time” • When in their congressional districts, Members reported spendingtheir time as follows: ° 32% on “Constituent Services Work” ° 18% on “Political/Campaign Work” ° 14% on “Press/Media Relations” ° 12% on “Legislative/Policy Work” ° 9% with “Family/Friends” ° 8% on “Personal Time” ° 7% on “Administrative/Managerial Work”
So what do members do all day in the House?
You’d be surprised what a typical schedule looks like for a member of Congress.
You’d think that members of Congress, being some of the most powerful people in America, would have control over their own schedule. Nothing could be farther from the truth! Sometimes, there is so much to do that it is broken down into 15 or even 5 minute increments. Lunch is often something wolfed down when you have the chance and there are so many demands on your time that breaks are out of the question.
This fictional schedule created by Scholastic Kids gives merely a taste of what will come with the position.
8AM — work period begins 8:30AM — prepare for debate on legislation 9AM — coffee with your caucus 10AM — debate on the bill under consideration 10:45AM — first vote of the day 11AM — communicate with media and the Senate 12PM — lunch and research for committee 1PM — committee meeting 3PM — meet with re-election campaign staff 5PM — meet with students and lobbyists
One anonymous member of the House shared this schedule for their day…
9-9:30AM: Speak to attendees of National Women, Infants, and Children’s Association 2012 Leadership Conference.
10AM-12PM: Sit in at Appropriations Hearing for marketing regulatory programs.
10:30AM-12PM: Sit in on national security briefing on Iran.
12PM-1PM: Conference meeting with Democratic/Republican colleagues on jobs, the economy and gas prices.
12:45-1:15PM: Meeting with Edie Smith local country program manager.
1:15-1:45PM: Meeting with representatives from American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) (note: AIPAC is a pro-Israel lobbying organization for the Israeli government).
1:30PM-2PM: Meeting with local county supervisor about HR 3460, National Parks Lands Bill
2-230PM: Meeting with Bob Ellis, solutions for progress non-profit about Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
2:30-3PM: Meeting with US Army and local officials
3-4PM: Fundraising call with Party HQ
3-3:30PM: Meeting with Army Corps of Engineers on current projects
3:30-4PM: Meeting with Organic Farming Research Foundation (501c3 nonprofit and grant-maker that promotes organic foods. Total FY2023 revenue $1.1 million. Half of revenue from government, the other half from organic food providers such as Sunrise Foods International, General Mills, Whole Foods, CROPP Cooperative, California Certified Organic Farmers. Government grants from the USDA and NIH).
4:30-5PM: Meeting with Vanessa Garcia, local supervisor about health issues and county priorities
5-6PM: Meeting with local county representatives about flood control, gang intervention program, and National Monument designation.
6:30-9:30PM: American Council for Capital Formation Dinner Discussion (ACCF is a think tank which lobbied for the cut of capital gains taxes, ending the ban on crude oil exports, and is generally seen as a “free-market” or “pro-business” organization).
Here’s a real schedule relayed from Republican Rep Tom Emmer (R- MN06) in 2016 — long before he joined House leadership. His schedule must be even more insane now…
Session Day: Sept. 13 Wakes up
Runs
7 a.m. Republican Main Street Partnership Members Meeting.
Republican Main Street Partnership Members Meeting. 8 a.m. Conference meeting.
Conference meeting. 9 a.m. Committee markup.
Committee markup. 9:30 a.m. Meeting with American Israel Public Affairs Committee National Council Members.
Meeting with American Israel Public Affairs Committee National Council Members. 11 a.m. Speaks at Brookings Executive Education Summit.
Speaks at Brookings Executive Education Summit. 11:30 a.m. Meeting with Minnesota Farm Bureau.
Meeting with Minnesota Farm Bureau. Noon Interview with Linder Farm Network.
Interview with Linder Farm Network. 12:30 p.m. Interview with National Conference of State Legislatures.
Interview with National Conference of State Legislatures. 1:15 p.m. Meeting with Ambulatory Surgery Center Association.
Meeting with Ambulatory Surgery Center Association. 2 p.m. Meeting with Department of Minnesota Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Meeting with Department of Minnesota Veterans of Foreign Wars. 3 p.m. Stewart Mills fundraiser.
Stewart Mills fundraiser. 3:30 p.m. Gov. Pence reception.
Gov. Pence reception. 5 p.m. Rack of Pork reception.
Rack of Pork reception. 5:30 p.m. Donor meeting.
Donor meeting. 6 p.m. Dinner reception.
Dinner reception. 8 p.m. Returns home
If you want to hear what it was like for a Democratic member of Congress, Rep. Derek Kilmer spilled the beans to the conservative think tank AEI shortly after leaving Congress this year. It is well worth the half-hour listen because it shows that the schedule above is highly variable. Here is an excerpt:
But it shows a little bit the complexity of working for that many bosses on top of that. I looked at just one year of my office. In one year—in 2022 alone—we got 130,000 emails, calls, and letters from the people for whom I worked. I attended more than 800 meetings and local events. In one year, we had 1,800 different people reach out to my office with specific concerns about specific federal agencies or issues where they needed help: a veteran who needed help getting their veterans benefits, a senior who reached out because they didn’t get their social security payment, a local business that was grappling with the SBA or with the IRS, etc. That’s part of the job, too. I share that mostly because that is perhaps the most profound difference for folks who serve in Congress, which is that you’ve got a lot of bosses with a lot of different needs. That’s not only a challenge of the job, but it’s a feature. It’s one of the cool things that you get to do in the role.
If you love insanely long hours and no control over your schedule, teaching joining Congress may be right for you!
What about the House of Representatives as a whole?
For most of the day, the House isn’t full of members of Congress. The votes usually are later in the day.
The day usually starts off with a prayer, a recitation of the pledge of allegiance, and the approval of the previous Journal. Then, the one-minute speeches start — usually in a nearly empty chamber.
At the beginning of the legislative business day, after the prayer, approval of the previous day's Journal, and pledge of allegiance, the Speaker of the House may recognize members for one-minute speeches. The rules of the House do not specifically provide for one-minute speeches, rather they have evolved as a unanimous consent practice of the chamber, where members must ask for unanimous consent to address the chamber. Under the power of House Rule XVII, clause 2, the Speaker decides when to entertain unanimous consent requests to address the House for one-minute, and how many speeches will be allowed. There may be unlimited time for speeches, or pressing legislative business may necessitate a shorter time. If there are any limitations on time, the majority and minority leadership typically receive advance notice. Members do not need to receive prior authorization to deliver a one-minute speech. To deliver a one-minute speech, members go to the front row of seats on their party’s side of the Floor and sit down. The Speaker will recognize members in turn, alternating between the majority and minority sides. When the chair announces that one minute has expired, the Member can finish the sentence underway but must then stop speaking. If the member cannot finish their remarks in one minute, they may insert additional material, either the full speech or extraneous materials, such as constituent communications or newspaper articles, into the Congressional Record. The inserted material appears in a distinct typeface in the Congressional Record, typically italics. One-minute speeches have many uses in Congress, including allowing members to explain a new bill or a floor amendment they will offer later in the day. Representatives also use one-minute speeches to deliver eulogies and tributes concerning individuals and organizations in their congressional district. One minutes also provide Members with an opportunity to express their views on bills, policy issues, and local, national, and international events. These speeches are one of the few unrestricted options members of Congress have to express a position. Not all members of Congress use one-minute speeches equally. In previous studies of legislative behavior, results suggest institutionally disadvantaged members of Congress, members who may have limited position-taking opportunities through traditional channels, are more likely to deliver a one-minute speech. These include junior members of Congress, members of the minority party in the House, ideologically extreme representatives, or non-committee chairs. These members of Congress have little opportunity to shape the legislative process, and therefore rely on alternative mechanisms, such as one-minute speeches to represent their constituents.
Usually after this, it is time for committees to meet. In order to avoid competing pulls on time (members of Congress serve on multiple committees) these meetings are staggered throughout the work week and perhaps even the month. Committee meetings usually last for a couple of hours — the markups of the Budget of Abominations being an extreme exception by lasting nearly an entire day.
Once a bill is brought up on the legislative calendar and the rules of debate are hashed out, it is time for debate on the business in front of the House.
During debates, a member may speak only if called upon by the presiding officer. The presiding officer decides which members to recognize, and can therefore control the course of debate. All speeches must be addressed to the presiding officer, using the words "Mr. Speaker" or "Madam Speaker". Only the presiding officer may be directly addressed in speeches; other members must be referred to in the third person. In most cases, members do not refer to each other only by name, but also by state, using forms such as "the gentleman from Virginia", "the distinguished gentlewoman from California", or "my distinguished friend from Alabama".
Only after the debate occurs will a recorded vote take place. Votes usually don’t occur until mid-afternoon or the evening right before the House adjourns for the day. On very busy days, the House could even pull an all-nighter like they did to pass the Budget of Abominations.
When debate concludes, the motion is put to a vote. In many cases, the House votes by voice vote; the presiding officer puts the question, and members respond either "yea!" or "aye!" (in favor of the motion) or "nay!" or "no!" (against the motion). The presiding officer then announces the result of the voice vote. A member may, however, challenge the presiding officer's assessment and "request the yeas and nays" or "request a recorded vote". The request may be granted only if it is seconded by one-fifth of the members present. Traditionally, however, members of Congress second requests for recorded votes as a matter of courtesy. Some votes are always recorded, such as those on the annual budget. A recorded vote may be taken in one of three different ways. One is electronically. Members use a personal identification card to record their votes at 46 voting stations in the chamber. Votes are usually held in this way. A second mode of recorded vote is by teller. Members hand in colored cards to indicate their votes: green for "yea", red for "nay", and orange for "present" (i.e., to abstain). Teller votes are normally held only when electronic voting breaks down. Finally, the House may conduct a roll call vote. The Clerk reads the list of members of the House, each of whom announces their vote when their name is called. This procedure is only used rarely (and usually for ceremonial occasions, such as for the election of a speaker) because of the time consumed by calling over four hundred names. Voting traditionally lasts for, at most, fifteen minutes, but it may be extended if the leadership needs to "whip" more members into alignment. The 2003 vote on the prescription drug benefit was open for three hours, from 3:00 to 6:00 a.m., to receive four additional votes, three of which were necessary to pass the legislation. The 2005 vote on CAFTA was open for one hour, from 11:00 p.m. to midnight. An October 2005 vote on facilitating refinery construction was kept open for forty minutes.
So the schedules above complement what is actually happening in the day-to-day business of the House itself.
But what about the time away from Washington, DC?
This is a popular belief. Recess time isn’t time to relax. In fact, the workload may be even more grueling.
On a recess, it is NOT time to rest on your laurels. It is a common myth that recess = vacation. This Substack even starts by addressing this myth.
Every time we turn around, it seems like the United States Senate or House of Representatives is leaving town for a break period that sometimes extends for weeks at a time... In 2021, the Senate was in session for 158 days and the House was in session for 172 days. There are about 260 workdays in the average work-year in the United States; when you factor in that US workers receive on average about 10 days of paid leave each year, this means most people are working around 250 days. What’s up with the House and Senate only being in session about 2/3 that number of days?
It goes on to list the four main workloads during a recess period:
attend events, political gatherings, town halls, fundraisers, etc. committee briefings are still occurring even during a recess. Also time for staffers/ members of Congress to do a debrief on upcoming legislation. There are oversight responsibilities both in the district you represent and across the nation. Sometimes, members of Congress even need to travel across the globe! Run for re-election in even-numbered years.
Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN06) reported having this schedule close to an election in 2016.
Wednesday, Oct. 13 Wakes up.
Goes for a run.
8:15 a.m. Departs house.
Departs house. 9 a.m. Meeting in office with local organization.
Meeting in office with local organization. 9:30 a.m. Call time.
Call time. 11:30 a.m. Speak at Wright County Economic Development Partnership.
Speak at Wright County Economic Development Partnership. 2 p.m. Attend classified FBI briefing.
Attend classified FBI briefing. 3:15 p.m. Film weekly video.
Film weekly video. 4 p.m. Debate prep.
Debate prep. 5:20 p.m. Candidate forum.
Candidate forum. 8 p.m. Returns home.
Former Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN05) spent his “summer work period” mostly at events — even on Fridays which are the days most Muslims spend at the mosque.
5th District Rep. Keith Ellison has a similarly frenzied schedule — he cited a day last week in Minneapolis when he worked from 7:30 in the morning until 9 at night. Between interviews and staff meetings, he spoke on a panel at the National Association of Black Journalists’ convention in Minneapolis, participated in events commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, and toured areas of Minneapolis with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro. It was a Friday and Ellison — a practicing Muslim — didn’t have time for the customary Friday prayers. “That’s what it’s like in the district during the summer work period,” Ellison says.
To summarize what it’s like on a recess, I return to the Substack above:
Much of what members of Congress do when they are not in session looks like a vacation to us. They go to fancy dinners, ride in parades, and get to travel around the world. This is part of their workload, and they ignore it at their peril. There’s always a political opponent waiting in the wings to charge that the member of Congress is “out of touch” if he or she stays in Washington too much of the time.
Conclusion
Hopefully I’ve busted the myth that members of Congress are lazy by now. The demands for the job are insane and I didn’t even touch upon the time it takes to travel back and forth every weekend (especially imagine if you are from Hawai’i or Alaska!) like many members of Congress do.
After reading all of the links, I still don’t know why anyone would want to run for Congress… let alone be a part of such a hectic work environment. However, it seems that members of Congress are satisfied with this — except for the lack of downtime for family or hobbies.
Members appear to be energized, not necessarily stifled, by their long hours and are motivated by their contributions to society. They also reported being very pleased with their staff ’s performance. While Members are not satisfied with the amount of time they spend on personal activities, they do not report being particularly dissatisfied either. This data suggests that Members (and to some degree their families) are accepting of the significant personal trade-offs they make for their work.
The thing is with the mounting problems our country faces the demands on the House and the Senate will only grow. Perhaps one day the job will truly become untenable.
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