Politicians in Congress whinning about working 5 day weeks.

[michaels]

Rep. Steny H. Hoyer, flanked by fellow House leaders Rahm Emanuel and Nancy Pelosi, says Democrats are trying to repair the image of Congress. (By Caleb Jones -- Associated Press)

Wednesday, Dec. 6, at 11 a.m. ET

Rep. Steny H. Hoyer, the Maryland Democrat who will become House majority leader and is writing the schedule for the next Congress, said members should expect longer hours than the brief week they have grown accustomed to.

"I have bad news for you," Hoyer told reporters. "Those trips you had planned in January, forget 'em. We will be working almost every day in January, starting with the 4th."

The reporters groaned. "I know, it's awful, isn't it?" Hoyer empathized.

For lawmakers, it is awful, compared with what they have come to expect. For much of this election year, the legislative week started late Tuesday and ended by Thursday afternoon -- and that was during the relatively few weeks the House wasn't in recess.

Next year, members of the House will be expected in the Capitol for votes each week by 6:30 p.m. Monday and will finish their business about 2 p.m. Friday, Hoyer said.

With the new calendar, the Democrats are trying to project a businesslike image when they take control of Congress in January. House and Senate Democratic leaders have announced an ambitious agenda for their first 100 hours and say they are adamant about scoring legislative victories they can trumpet in the 2008 campaigns.

Hoyer and other Democratic leaders say they are trying to repair the image of Congress, which was so anemic this year it could not meet a basic duty: to approve spending bills that fund government. By the time the gavel comes down on the 109th Congress on Friday, members will have worked a total of 103 days. That's seven days fewer than the infamous "Do-Nothing Congress" of 1948.

Hoyer said members can bid farewell to extended holidays, the kind that awarded them six weekdays to relax around Memorial Day, when most Americans get a single day off. He didn't mention the month-long August recess, the two-week April recess or the weeks off in February, March and July.

Damn whinebag babies. STFU already d^%$kheads, and if you don't like it, don't fun for the job next time.

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally posted by: michaels
Damn whinebag babies. STFU already d^%$kheads, and if you don't like it, don't fun for the job next time.

Sad part is even working more does not mean that would get any more done.

 

[Zorba]

Sounds good to me, these leechs should have to work 50+ hours a week.

 

[lozina]

sorry can't respond to this story right now, busy in a vote with some of my coworkers over whether we should reward ourselves with a higher salary... it's lookin' good for the "Yea"s so far...

 

[miketheidiot]

this topic reminded me of a relatively recent Rolling Stone Article I read a few weeks ago.

 

[sandorski]

Originally posted by: lozina
sorry can't respond to this story right now, busy in a vote with some of my coworkers over whether we should reward ourselves with a higher salary... it's lookin' good for the "Yea"s so far...

 

[kdc914]

OMG, you can't POSSIBLY expect our elected leaders to do more work! How can they hope to fit in all that essential bribe taking, money laundering, and influence peddling if they have to do ACTUAL work? I mean, COME ON! Be REASONABLE here...

<note to the terminally thin-skinned and easily offended: the preceding statement is an example of a literary tool known as "sarcasm". That means I don't really believe the BS I just wrote above, but rather am mocking those about whom I wrote. If that bothered you, then you are in the wrong part of this forum and should go read about bunnies and flowers somewhere else. We now return you to your regularly scheduled political rant... er, I mean "discussion".>

 

[Thump553]

103 work days per year? That's less than even GWB, which is an extremely low standard.

In fairness to our dear Congressmen, they probably each put in an additional 50+ hours per week raising campaign contributions. If they were Mafioso, this shakedown time would probably count as part of their official work week.

 

[1EZduzit]

Originally posted by: Thump553
103 work days per year? That's less than even GWB, which is an extremely low standard.

In fairness to our dear Congressmen, they probably each put in an additional 50+ hours per week raising campaign contributions. If they were Mafioso, this shakedown time would probably count as part of their official work week.

I believe the TV report i sawlast night said they only work 2 hours a day when they are in session. They're setting a hellova an example for the rest of us to follow.

 

[Kwaipie]

I think this is a bad idea. The less they work, the less they screw up the country.

 

[Zorba]

Originally posted by: Kwaipie
I think this is a bad idea. The less they work, the less they screw up the country.

Hopefully the new congress can fix a lot of the BS that has been passed in the last couple years and then quickly become lazy themselves so that can't "fix" too much

 

[Thump553]

I heard a story on the news this morning that the House GOP leadership is trying to push a bill through today-on an expedited, limited debate basis (will require two-thirds vote) about fetal pain (the bill will require doctors doing abortions beyond the 20th week to advise the woman that the fetus MAY feel pain, to offer her medicine for the fetus's pain and to get a written waiver from her on this) despite the fact that such a bill won't get through the current Senate and certainly will fail if left to the upcoming session. Apparently the main purpose of this bill is to score points with the so-called social conservatives.

This is despite the fact that Congress failed to implement ANY of the ten major funding bills for the federal government's current (ie, already started) fiscal year and they will not address any of these before the end of this session. The only semi-serious attempt to address this issue was to propose one ominbus funding bill with basically unlimited ability to write in those pork barrel projects politicians seem to love so much. Fortunately a few honorable Senators blocked that.

These bums can't get thrown out soon enough, in my view.

 

[kdc914]

Originally posted by: Thump553
Fortunately a few honorable Senators blocked that.

honorable Senator?!? Is that an oxymoron or just a regular moron?

 

[WiseOldDude]

Oh Hell NO! we need congress to work less, if at all. Maybe 1 or 2 days a month is a practical workload, as when this cast of crooks and corporate stooges are working, they are digging in our wallets, and taking our freedoms.

This country has come to feel the same when Congress is in session as when the baby gets hold of a hammer.
Will Rogers

 

[Jhhnn]

Well, Thump553, I'm glad that the repubs are forging full speed ahead with the same strategy that lost them the majority- pandering to their base... Doesn't matter what course you steer, I guess, when you're already run aground...

Nevermind real business- leave that for the Dems, blame them for the hard choices. Gotta keep the priorities straight, after all...

 

[marvdmartian]

Originally posted by: dmcowen674

Originally posted by: michaels
Damn whinebag babies. STFU already d^%$kheads, and if you don't like it, don't fun for the job next time.

Sad part is even working more does not mean that would get any more done.

No, the truly sad part is that, even with working more hours, they'll still likely work fewer hours than most Americans, and make twice (or more!) as much money doing it!

Ya know, I realize that, back in the days when men would take time off from their careers to hold a public office, it was important to give them a decent wage, to offset the fact that they lost so much time that would have otherwise been spent making a living. Nowadays, we have people that make a career out of holding public office, and probably accomplish less than most teenagers working in food service jobs! :roll:

 

[ayabe]

Here's a gem:

?Keeping us up here eats away at families,? said Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.), who typically flies home on Thursdays and returns to Washington on Tuesdays. ?Marriages suffer. The Democrats could care less about families ? that?s what this says.?

 

[GTKeeper]

Originally posted by: ayabe
Here's a gem:

?Keeping us up here eats away at families,? said Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.), who typically flies home on Thursdays and returns to Washington on Tuesdays. ?Marriages suffer. The Democrats could care less about families ? that?s what this says.?

LOL This is HILARIOUS. What about all the consultants and people with jobs that require 80%+ travel? Talk about being lazy. A normal traveling job is Monday through Thursday night if you are lucky, and we are talking about Monday 7-8am flight and coming back late on Thursday.

Cry me a fvcking river.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: ayabe
Here's a gem:

?Keeping us up here eats away at families,? said Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.), who typically flies home on Thursdays and returns to Washington on Tuesdays. ?Marriages suffer. The Democrats could care less about families ? that?s what this says.?

is that the actual quote or did the reporter screw up? i mean, could care less is wrong. just wrong.

 

[ayabe]

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: ayabe
Here's a gem:

?Keeping us up here eats away at families,? said Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.), who typically flies home on Thursdays and returns to Washington on Tuesdays. ?Marriages suffer. The Democrats could care less about families ? that?s what this says.?

is that the actual quote or did the reporter screw up? i mean, could care less is wrong. just wrong.

I don't think he was misquoted, but I didn't see a TV clip or anything.

Here's the link:

Linkage

 

[imported_Lothar]

Originally posted by: ayabe
Here's a gem:

?Keeping us up here eats away at families,? said Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.), who typically flies home on Thursdays and returns to Washington on Tuesdays. ?Marriages suffer. The Democrats could care less about families ? that?s what this says.?

Idiocy at it's finest.

 

[4X4er]

Originally posted by: ayabe
Here's a gem:

?Keeping us up here eats away at families,? said Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.), who typically flies home on Thursdays and returns to Washington on Tuesdays. ?Marriages suffer. The Democrats could care less about families ? that?s what this says.?

I dare him to say that in front of one of the deployed military families...:disgust:

 

[fitzov]

Until they volunteer to work for min wage, my image of them will be ruined.

 

[International Machine Consortium]

Originally posted by: ayabe

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: ayabe
Here's a gem:

?Keeping us up here eats away at families,? said Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.), who typically flies home on Thursdays and returns to Washington on Tuesdays. ?Marriages suffer. The Democrats could care less about families ? that?s what this says.?

is that the actual quote or did the reporter screw up? i mean, could care less is wrong. just wrong.

I don't think he was misquoted, but I didn't see a TV clip or anything.

Here's the link:

Linkage

Meanwhile, Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) has no compunction whatsoever about destroying thousands of families by sending innocent kids to be slaughtered in a failed war. The irony.

 

[sonoma1993]

Originally posted by: michaels

Rep. Steny H. Hoyer, flanked by fellow House leaders Rahm Emanuel and Nancy Pelosi, says Democrats are trying to repair the image of Congress. (By Caleb Jones -- Associated Press)

Wednesday, Dec. 6, at 11 a.m. ET

Rep. Steny H. Hoyer, the Maryland Democrat who will become House majority leader and is writing the schedule for the next Congress, said members should expect longer hours than the brief week they have grown accustomed to.

"I have bad news for you," Hoyer told reporters. "Those trips you had planned in January, forget 'em. We will be working almost every day in January, starting with the 4th."

The reporters groaned. "I know, it's awful, isn't it?" Hoyer empathized.

For lawmakers, it is awful, compared with what they have come to expect. For much of this election year, the legislative week started late Tuesday and ended by Thursday afternoon -- and that was during the relatively few weeks the House wasn't in recess.

Next year, members of the House will be expected in the Capitol for votes each week by 6:30 p.m. Monday and will finish their business about 2 p.m. Friday, Hoyer said.

With the new calendar, the Democrats are trying to project a businesslike image when they take control of Congress in January. House and Senate Democratic leaders have announced an ambitious agenda for their first 100 hours and say they are adamant about scoring legislative victories they can trumpet in the 2008 campaigns.

Hoyer and other Democratic leaders say they are trying to repair the image of Congress, which was so anemic this year it could not meet a basic duty: to approve spending bills that fund government. By the time the gavel comes down on the 109th Congress on Friday, members will have worked a total of 103 days. That's seven days fewer than the infamous "Do-Nothing Congress" of 1948.

Hoyer said members can bid farewell to extended holidays, the kind that awarded them six weekdays to relax around Memorial Day, when most Americans get a single day off. He didn't mention the month-long August recess, the two-week April recess or the weeks off in February, March and July.

Damn whinebag babies. STFU already d^%$kheads, and if you don't like it, don't fun for the job next time.

our congressman make what, like $160,000 a year? And they are whinning that they are going to have to work more? I work 5 days a week, 30hrs of work + school 3 days a week
They need to quit their b*tchin