From USA Today:
The House of Representatives is on track this year to be in session for fewer days than the Congress Harry Truman labeled as “do-nothing” during his 1948 re-election campaign.[...]
Through Friday, the House was in session for 19 days, compared with 33 for the Senate. If they stick to their current schedule — including two weeks off in April, a week in May and July, plus all of August — House members will spend 97 days in Washington this year.
The House was in session 108 days in 1948, according to the chamber’s archives, compared with 141 days last year.
“This is an election year and people want to see more of their constituents,” says House Majority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio.
This article has an air of “what slackers these congresscritters are!”.
That may be true. One could take offense at just how much time politicians spend working to keep their jobs, rather than just doing them.
However, as an individual who’s previously expressed a preference for a mostly-deadlocked government, one that’s able to address urgent matters on which there’s a consensus, but otherwise is unable to initiate any other shenanigans….I’m not so sure that keeping the congresscritters on the road, and out of substantial mischief is necessarily a bad thing.