Now That I Represent the American People, I Want a Vacation

Are "we the people" really that exhausting to represent? In today’s news, it was announced that Congress, now controlled by a democratic majority, will be following a 5-day work week in the upcoming year. For those not in the know, Congress has, in past years, been required to work from late Tuesday to Thursday afternoon. Add to that extended holidays, the August recess, and week-long recesses in 4 more months in the year.

The election process is, no doubt, long and arduous. You must win the support of the majority population in your state, bringing great ideas to the table and promising to act rather than dream. Politicians are the Long Island Iced Tea of professions: an awkward, yet delicious, blend of traits that get the job done. They must be dreamers, action takers, socialites, recluses, risk takers, grounded individuals, stubborn, and open to opinions. It must be exhausting. But this is the life that these individuals chose to live.

As the article linked above mentions, a good deal of these representatives are up in arms about the extended work week. They have families to hold together; a life to live outside of work. Imagine flying from California, or Alaska for that matter, on a Sunday just to get to work by Monday afternoon. I wouldn’t do it. Count me out. But, ah-ha-yes, that is one reason why I am not a politician.

This may be a cold opinion, but there are certain professions out there that require an understanding that family life is going to be difficult. CEO’s and executives of large businesses, the uncorrupt ones, spend their lives at work. A good deal of them do not have the flexibility to decide their hours. When you are a publicly traded company, you do what you must to keep revenues high and costs low. As a lawyer, you do not decide how much time you will allot to a case. The case, ultimately, decides that for you. As a politician, a house representative in this case, you do not decide how much time you will spend keeping the U.S. running smoothly. The country, and its people, make the decision for you.

I give a hearty golf clap to Rep. Steny H. Hoyer, who, as the new House majority leader, made the decision to extend the schedule. Amid pressure from colleagues, our good friend Steny is taking aim at the country and its people. As the article states, the 109th Congress, come Friday, will have worked 3 days less then the 1948 “Do-nothing Congress”. For a country with its hands in almost every pot/country, and in the midst of a war reminiscent of the failure of Vietnam, that is unacceptable.


While our soldiers are forced into long stints away from their families that can last 6 months to a year or longer, often spending Christmas with sand making their Beige Christmas, Congress is complaining about a 5-day work week. Where is the justice in that? Where is the rationale? It seems some of our country’s leaders are getting so absorbed in the title and respect they receive upon election and reelection, that they have forgotten the reason they were placed into office in the first place.

I grew up with a businessman as a father. I have lived in 5 states because of his profession. Through a good portion of my childhood, work often took the front seat to getting home early or full weekends without work. I do not blame my father, and I actually see my having lived so many places as a strength and large contributor to making me who I am. There is no blame to be had, for he did nothing wrong. My father made a career decision, and took full responsibility for his decisions. Congress needs to take responsibility for the job they have been given.

Members of Congress, the American people know you have families and that your profession is one of the more difficult in this country. We demand a great deal from you, yes. But this is the way the country was founded. Keeping a country together takes time and effort, and, for the most part, your personal life must take a backseat to the demands of the country. This is not the life you have been given, but rather the life you have chosen.

The Roman Republic fell time and time again because its senators became too accustomed to a cushy lifestyle. Self-proclaimed emperors took control over the Roman Republic by winning over the senate approval. And how did they do that, you ask? By promising, in return for the throne, a continuation of their status and standard of living. Who could pass up the extravagant life of a senator without having to deal with all that governmental pish-posh? If, stepping back in time, Emperor Bush stood in front of Congress and promised them such a deal, how many would raise their gilded fingers and say “Nay” with conviction?

I am being farfetched, yes, for our country is not in the state the republics were before their fall. My point lies in the fact that our congressmen are looking to shed some responsibility while clinging lovingly to the benefits allotted. Congress should be accomplishing as much, if not more, as the executive branch. With the upcoming schedule change, we can hopefully be assured that more will be accomplished in the coming years, and that the 110th Congress will come to be known as the “Do-something-after-nothing Congress”.