Emily Loves the Congressional Recess
When I first started my Congressional fellowship, Congress was in recess...a lot. It was late September and we were moving into the final weeks before a major election. Then there was the post-election season. In truth, I think that between late September and the December holiday break, Congress was in session about three weeks. It wasn't until January that I really got a sense of how different things work when Congress is in session versus recess.
The Senate and the House follow similar schedules for being in session or recess. As readers can see, Congress has been in session most of the time since January. It's stacked as a very full schedule. Two weeks away from Washington in April, but then pretty busy until August. Even when members of Congress are away from Washington, they maintain an incredibly demanding schedule, especially for a group of people, who on average, are nearing traditional retirement age.
But, back to recess. It's recess and from what I can tell, everyone is loving it. It reminds me a bit of the breaks that academics get. I have a love-hate relationship with the demands of academia, but I cannot deny that I am particularly well-suited to the "boom-bust" style that goes with being a college professor. When I was interviewing for my fellowship position - just about a year ago today, I was asked if I would prefer a Congressional fellowship or an Executive Branch fellowship. I indicated the former and even stated that I anticipated Congressional fellowships are more dynamic, filled with adrenaline, and follow the "boom and bust" cycle that is so familiar to me from academia. I was right. I am much more suited to the Congressional branch of government. If I wanted to stay in Washington, I could easily adapt to the life of being a "hill staffer." But, no worries to my readers... Academia is calling me back. And, I won't lie, so is Amesbury and the Powwow River.
Look at that...more digression. It had been projected that we would work through the first week of the April recess. That was back when there were projections that the Republican health care bill would move, but we all know what happened to that. So, we're getting our full two weeks of recess. We actually started our recess with a fire alarm on Monday morning. We stood outside in 75° weather for over an hour yesterday morning. Only this one tweeter covered it. As you can imagine, it was rough standing outside in the beautiful sunshine for over an hour.
That was actually a fitting way to start the week because everything is different when the Senate is in recess. There is no need for professional dress. One can even skip "business casual." Many staffers arrive for work in jeans and a t-shirt. The interns arrived yesterday in their suits, having not been told about the change in dress code. Poor things. The schedule is different, too, when Congress is in recess. At a minimum, when Congress is in session, staffers are expected to be in the office from 9AM-6PM. Truth to tell, when I leave the office at 6PM, most staffers are still at their desks. When I leave at 6:30PM? Most are still at their desks. My email inbox indicates that most staffers leave the office between 6:30 and 7:00PM. They pull very long days.
When we are in recess staffers take long lunches. They hang out and have conversations in the in between desks. The hallways, though, are empty. And, strangely enough, they are dark. I wasn't the only fellow who noted this. The lighting in the hallway is noticeably dimmed. We're just ending appropriations season when every possible constituent comes to the hill to ask for money for a worthy cause. It's been almost impossible to wade through the hallways, the cafeteria has been bursting at the seams, and the entrances to the Senate Office Buildings sometimes have a line that snakes around the block. Now that we are in recess, the hallways are empty, the cafeteria has a fraction of the traffic that we have seen for the last six weeks, and some of the standard entrances are closed.
I won't lie. I'm enjoying it - the shorter days, the casual clothing, and less pressured work environment. I'm going to trainings, workshops, working on a bill, scheduling lunches, and taking care of some of my academic work. But, most important - I'm going home for a nice five-day stretch. I'll catch all my readers when I get back. Thankfully, I'll still have a few more days of recess before the "boom" cycle ramps back up again.
The Senate and the House follow similar schedules for being in session or recess. As readers can see, Congress has been in session most of the time since January. It's stacked as a very full schedule. Two weeks away from Washington in April, but then pretty busy until August. Even when members of Congress are away from Washington, they maintain an incredibly demanding schedule, especially for a group of people, who on average, are nearing traditional retirement age.
But, back to recess. It's recess and from what I can tell, everyone is loving it. It reminds me a bit of the breaks that academics get. I have a love-hate relationship with the demands of academia, but I cannot deny that I am particularly well-suited to the "boom-bust" style that goes with being a college professor. When I was interviewing for my fellowship position - just about a year ago today, I was asked if I would prefer a Congressional fellowship or an Executive Branch fellowship. I indicated the former and even stated that I anticipated Congressional fellowships are more dynamic, filled with adrenaline, and follow the "boom and bust" cycle that is so familiar to me from academia. I was right. I am much more suited to the Congressional branch of government. If I wanted to stay in Washington, I could easily adapt to the life of being a "hill staffer." But, no worries to my readers... Academia is calling me back. And, I won't lie, so is Amesbury and the Powwow River.
Look at that...more digression. It had been projected that we would work through the first week of the April recess. That was back when there were projections that the Republican health care bill would move, but we all know what happened to that. So, we're getting our full two weeks of recess. We actually started our recess with a fire alarm on Monday morning. We stood outside in 75° weather for over an hour yesterday morning. Only this one tweeter covered it. As you can imagine, it was rough standing outside in the beautiful sunshine for over an hour.
That was actually a fitting way to start the week because everything is different when the Senate is in recess. There is no need for professional dress. One can even skip "business casual." Many staffers arrive for work in jeans and a t-shirt. The interns arrived yesterday in their suits, having not been told about the change in dress code. Poor things. The schedule is different, too, when Congress is in recess. At a minimum, when Congress is in session, staffers are expected to be in the office from 9AM-6PM. Truth to tell, when I leave the office at 6PM, most staffers are still at their desks. When I leave at 6:30PM? Most are still at their desks. My email inbox indicates that most staffers leave the office between 6:30 and 7:00PM. They pull very long days.
When we are in recess staffers take long lunches. They hang out and have conversations in the in between desks. The hallways, though, are empty. And, strangely enough, they are dark. I wasn't the only fellow who noted this. The lighting in the hallway is noticeably dimmed. We're just ending appropriations season when every possible constituent comes to the hill to ask for money for a worthy cause. It's been almost impossible to wade through the hallways, the cafeteria has been bursting at the seams, and the entrances to the Senate Office Buildings sometimes have a line that snakes around the block. Now that we are in recess, the hallways are empty, the cafeteria has a fraction of the traffic that we have seen for the last six weeks, and some of the standard entrances are closed.
I won't lie. I'm enjoying it - the shorter days, the casual clothing, and less pressured work environment. I'm going to trainings, workshops, working on a bill, scheduling lunches, and taking care of some of my academic work. But, most important - I'm going home for a nice five-day stretch. I'll catch all my readers when I get back. Thankfully, I'll still have a few more days of recess before the "boom" cycle ramps back up again.
Enjoy your 5 days - and thanks for posting!
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