5-Day Work Week is Just Too Much Work, Lawmakers whine....

[marmar]

:cry: :cry: :cry:


From the Politico:

Lawmakers Revolt Against Long Hours

By: Ryan Grim
February 7, 2007 07:39 AM EST


Even before Democratic leaders have made good on promises to harness lawmakers five days a week, cross-party opposition is growing, with senators ready to revolt and House members simmering over the new schedule.

The most popular move afoot would have lawmakers working for three weeks at a stretch with a week off -- or some variation on that theme, several House and Senate members said. Such a schedule would roughly reflect the one in practice under previous Republican rule in the Senate.

"They should really work us so we get things done, then give us a few weeks off so we can do the Kiwanis Clubs and all that," said Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz. "If you leave early Monday, yes, you can get here for a 4:30 vote, but you lose the whole working day of Monday."

There's a broadening bipartisan "uprising" to ditch the longer workweek among both lawmakers and staff, especially in the Senate, said a top Democratic Senate aide.

"It's a grind," said Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., who enjoys one of the easiest commutes to the Capitol from his home in Northern Virginia. "It's a lot more stringent than people originally thought it would be."

A visibly annoyed Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., agreed: "I just told (Reid) I won't be back by 4:30" for the vote Monday, "even though I'm catching a 1:55 flight."

But the Democratic leadership isn't budging. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said that he's gotten complaints from both sides of the aisle, but that the schedule is set. The proposed plan of three weeks on, one week off, he said, is something he's heard a lot about. "We'll look at it, but nothing's going to change this year," he said. .....(more)

The rest of the piece is at: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0207/2652.html

[YDogg]

1. Boo-Frickin'-Hoo

Maybe they should look for work elsewhere. It sure seems like these folks (on both sides of the aisle) are unaccustomed to any amount of "hard work."

[ixion]

2. after having worked 60-80 hour weeks over the course of the past six years

I feel fully justified in telling them to go f*** themselves. :grr:

[Tellurian]

10. Right...Kiwanis Club my ***

they need an excuse to meet on the sly to get their marching orders from the WH..

[hobbit709]

3. Tell that to

the average american who has to put in his 40 hours or else. If I don't show up by 8AM on Monday, I'm in trouble-period. And I certainly can't adjourn for the day when I feel like it.

[Cobalt Violet]

6. What? You don't have 3 weeks on 1 week on?

Unreal.

[donco6]

4. Chain-'em in the chamber.

With everything we're facing now - they have the gall to suggest a 3-day week, with a week off? Jeebus.

:puke::wtf::grr::banghead:

[Cobalt Violet]

5. "If you don't like it, you know where the door is."

Something I've heard at just about every job I ever had over my life time. I never had 3 week on 1 week off either.

[rodeodance]

7. They have a point as they do need time to be with their local constituants.

[Tellurian]

13. Complete and utter BS

Their constituents live on 1600 Pennsy..

It's nothing more than an excuse for republicon strategy sessions.

Pelosi better not fall for that one. They got their football game and thats it!

[Igel]

24. My house rep has his office maybe 1/2 mile from where

I live.

In previous years he's held regular hours in his office, townhall meetings, and gone out to meet with community groups. Some's politicking, some's outreach, some's listening to complaints. Strikes me that allowing him to come back to his district makes him a little closer to his constituents than living much of the year in DC.

If he's never at his office, he should close it. Calls to his local office could be transferred to some aide in his DC office, and it would save money.

[Tansy_Gold]

25. While I think that's really nice of him to be available for

face to face meetings with constituents, I know I'd much rather have MY congresscritter in DC doing what she/he was elected to do, and let a capable staff in a local office handle the complaints, the awards, etc. As for "town hall meetings," and so on, those could be done during scheduled recesses.

I want these highly-paid, highly-benefited folks to be WORKING, not politicking.

Tansy Gold

[Igel]

26. Part of my rep's job is

being available to learn what his constituents want, and explain to his constituents what he's doing. Feedback is good.

Most of the work in DC is done by staffers and lobbyists, and goes on whether or not my rep's in DC or not.

[Mist]

8. Damn, these ijits have gotten lazy! Well, they WERE the do-nothing congress--

When they complain about "stretching 3-day weeks into 5-day weeks," they seem not to get the idea that they're supposed to, ya know, work MORE. Seems to me there was a time when lawmakers didn't try to get home every few days, but settled for every few weeks. Or am I "misremembering"?

[woodsprite]

14. It takes alot of hard werk holding off decisions on legislation

for 5 days compared to 3 days.

[marmar]

22. True that....

Obfuscation becomes more difficult the more you have to show up for work.

[peace13]

9. Love to hear them tell this to a soldier on third rotation to Iraq! n/t

[blondeatlast]

17. There ya go.

:thumbsup:

[Dracos]

11. I say send all these cry babies

to Iraq they would totally shit themselves. Really suprised that Jim Webb, D-Va is part of this guess he still has a lot of repuke habits in him may one day he will be a true Democrat and work for a living.

[woodsprite]

15. Wait, I don't understand. I was told by a Repub running this past

November that DC politics and politicians don't really have anything to do with local politics.

Don't worry. I told him where to get off at. Biden's son won that election.

[enough already]

12. WTF is Webb whining about???

He just got there for crissakes.

[City Lights]

16. What's good for the privileged few is good for the masses!

3 or 4-day work week for all of America! Who wouldn't love to have every Monday and/or Friday off?

They need to work a 5-day week or take a pay cut!

Frickin' rich, spoiled cry babies! Bite me!

[Raffi Ella]

18. right. WTF!???

"That's what I signed up for," said Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont. "We shouldn't complain about a little inconvenience. I got a lot of people in my state working two five-day weeks," he added, referring to constituents with two or more jobs.


Thank you Mr.Tester!!

Maybe I don't understand the privilege and leeway that comes along with government jobs but I,for one,want my elected officials to actually WORK.

I get that they have an extra burden of travel and home state concerns but really?With the extreme and dire circumstances our country is in and with our soldiers dying in a War of choice AND for the money they are being paid they are complaining that it's inconvenient!?

:wtf:
Seriously,as Jon Tester said,THAT'S what you signed up for!

[gratuitous]

19. Just to voice a little contrarian opinion

I can understand that it's a grind. All day in meetings and caucus sessions, and back at the office the phone keeps ringing and people keep coming by. The staff can do a lot, but there's always something that requires the officeholder's attention. And traveling from West to East always eats up a day -- but that's due in part to Congress dicking over the rest of us by allowing the airlines to stop those nonstop cross-country flights which weren't near as profitable as stopping every 1,000 miles or so to change planes in Denver or Dallas or St. Louis or Minneapolis or Atlanta or Waukegan.

They have some sympathy from me, but they are getting paid six figures a year. It's not fashionable in those circles to actually earn that money, but nobody's forcing any of these millionaires to be elected officials.

[riderinthestorm]

20. Either do the job or leave. If it's too much for you perhaps we should get a replacement?

How many times have the rest of heard this? Their jobs as Congressman require their attendance at Congress, 5 days/week. If you live far away, then you shoulda thought about that before you actively, aggressively, purposefully went after the job. Everyone else on the planet considers commuting time before they take a job - why are Congresspeople exempt?

And I like the comment about whining to the soldiers in Iraq.... Yup, that's exactly right. They're the ones who have sent those folks over there, they can work as hard as those grunts (not that they ever could but you get the gist).

[meldroc]

21. I'll make them a deal.

I'll let Congress have some more time off if they pass legislation mandating a minimum of six weeks of paid vacation for all workers in the U.S., plus two weeks of sick days.

[ieoeja]

23. I agree with them.

It has been almost a hundred years since we introduced the forty hour work week. What first made this possible was the technological advances of the American Industrial Revolution.

So just as 10 years of inflation without a raise in the minimum wage was too long, I would suggest that 100 years of technological advances without a decrease in the work week is also too long.