Being a congressman is rough

They work harder than you think

A lot of people outside of the political space tell about members of Congress (moC) are all corrupt, lazy, and disinterested in the common folk. I don’t necessarily think all of that is always untrue, but it occurs to me that most people don’t know how hard being a congressman or congresswoman actually is.

Firstly, let’s talk recess. Occasionally in the news it gets mentioned that Congress is on recess and that is why no one is legislating. A lot of people assume these recesses are for easy vacations. After all, most people don’t get recess from their jobs! However, in my experience with Congress, the recesses are anything but rejuvenating. Rather they are campaigning sprees. During these breaks from legislating candidates on both sides of the aisle usually spend their time not with their family, but with donors. Campaigns are expensive and happen every two years so they are constantly either calling donors or rushing from events where donors congregate. If not donors it is community leaders and other important constituent groups which all want to meet with their representatives frequently.

This problem isn’t just a recess one though. It happens while legislating as well. Across the aisle, everyday hours that are supposed to be spent working on bills instead are spent making phone calls to big dollar donors. This juggling of donors, constituents, and governmental tasks makes moCs some of the busiest people I have ever witnessed. Everyone on the hill knows how difficult and important the job of a DC scheduler is for this exact reason. They are managing people who in an 8 day week still would be too busy to do half of what they actually wanted to do.

The job itself is difficult even when doing the legislating. In our polarized environment it can be difficult to do anything as each individual moC has little control over their party. Even when they are able to make a difference, they are constantly forced to make choices about where to compromise their values and where to make stands.

There are exceptions of course, and some moCs I met were truly awful. However, I think on the whole you have to believe in something to stick with such an all consuming job. Whether what some of these people believe in is of any value is a question I’ll leave for another day. Obviously, I don’t think this isn’t reason to pity our representatives, but next time you are upset with government know they your representatives might be upset and frustrated too (and you should advocate for longer terms in office because having an election every 2 years means there is never a break from campaigning).