All in a (12-hour) day’s work: Lawmakers log long hours despite gridlock
By Bryan Pietsch | Cronkite News
Friday, Aug. 10, 2018
WASHINGTON − It’s 8 a.m. on a recent Wednesday and Rep. Debbie Lesko is standing in the Capitol’s Statuary Hall, steps from a larger-than-life statue of Arizona Sen. Barry Goldwater, waiting for a live television interview.
It’s the first event in a 12-hour day that will include meetings, interviews, votes and hearings − a normal Wednesday for members of Congress, in other words.
With the House on recess for the month of August and a gridlocked Congress unable to pass much legislation, it’s easy to think that lawmakers aren’t working hard. But that confuses their work product with their work ethic, said Brad Fitch, CEO of the Congressional Management Foundation.
“I’m very familiar with the idea and know that a lot of Americans don’t think that Congress is doing a very good job,” Fitch said. “They’re usually…dedicated public servants that are working very, very hard and very long hours.”
