A few weeks ago, the U.S. Capitol Historical Society gave an award to former Rep. Lee Hamilton (D-Ind.), one of the superstars of American politics. In return, he gave a wonderful, thoughtful lecture about the nature and future of Congress. I have just finished a second tour on the board of the Capitol Historical Society, itself a treasure--a thoroughly nonpartisan, private nonprofit group dedicated to preserving, enhancing, and educating people about the Capitol itself.
 
Much of its revenue comes from its gift shop, which, until the Capitol Visitor Center construction, was located in a wonderful, central spot in the exact center of the Capitol. Now the gift shop is operating from a less central, temporary location and is awaiting word on where it will be located within the visitors center. It’s facing stiff competition from both House and Senate gift shops, which offer cut-rate prices and taxpayer-financed staffs. They are likely to be given the prime spots.

If House and Senate leaders have any regard for the history of their own institutions and for basic fairness, they will make sure that the U.S. Capitol Historical Society can compete, and flourish, in that setting.

At the Hamilton event, I had a long chat with Billy Pitts, the longtime right arm of the House Republican leadership. To Congress-mavens, there is no greater accolade than to refer to someone as a House guy. Billy is a quintessential House guy: He grew up in the institution, he has devoted his life to it, he loves it and has given a lot back to it. We talked about one of the critical problems that afflicts the modern House and has contributed mightily to the harsh atmosphere and the decline in deliberation: the Tuesday-to-Thursday schedule.

Of course, a Tuesday-to-Thursday schedule is not really new. When I first came to Congress, the Members from New York, Pennsylvania, and other parts of the Northeast were notorious for trying to limit their time in Washington, D.C., to three days, spending long “weekends” back home. For this “Tuesday to Thursday Club,” that meant coming to the Capitol Tuesday morning during routine morning business before the substantive legislative schedule began, then returning home by car or train late Thursday night after the last votes, or occasionally on early Friday morning.

These days, the “Tuesday to Thursday Club” is essentially universal. Members from all over straggle in late Tuesday afternoon, insisting that there be no votes until the end of the day. Then they scramble to get out of town as early on Thursday as possible.

Sometimes, of course, votes actually take place on Mondays and Fridays, and occasionally, emergencies or pressing business requires full weeks and even rare weekend sessions. But the change, and the lack of time spent in meaningful floor debate, has been striking. In the 1960s and 1970s, the House was in session on average about 323 days. In the most recent 107th and 108th Congresses, the House was in session an average of 254 days.

In the old days, most Members stayed for weeks at a time. They mostly lived in Washington with their families and socialized with other Members and their families. For those weeks at a time, the business of legislating predominated, whether that meant working on bills with legislative counsel, holding extended markups or engaging in extended hearings.

Now, the atmosphere is frenetic, and the attention span of Members has narrowed to nanoseconds. There is precious little deliberation, and the number of hearings, whether legislative or oversight, has sunk. Legislating now consists of slapping together omnibus bills that are dropped in the dead of night under restrictive or self-executing rules, then forced into up-or-down votes.

Trips abroad are fewer in number and scope (and may be reduced further thanks to the shenanigans of Jack Abramoff and his Congressional posse). This means Members don’t spend much time with their colleagues, especially those from the other party.

Yet having families in the District has not made for more stable family lives. When lawmakers go back home, they spend their time flitting around their districts for town meetings and ribbon-cutting ceremonies, leaving their families with no parent or spouse during much of the week, and an absentee parent or spouse much of the rest of the week.

If I could do one thing procedurally to heal the House and Senate and begin to restore some semblance of its deliberative role, I would embrace Billy Pitts’ idea and force it into a two weeks on/two weeks off schedule.

During the two “on” weeks, Congress would be in session and working from Monday morning until the end of Friday, with votes so that members would have to be here for the regular work week, plus the occasional Saturday session to keep everybody honest. That would change the tone and dynamic of Congress in dramatic ways. It would also nudge more lawmakers to move their families to Washington, treating the town and their own institution as something other than alien territory.

They would spend more time around their colleagues, seeing them as human beings and not as the enemy. The practice, all too common, of Members sleeping on their office couches on the Tuesday and Wednesday nights they are around, then cleaning up in the House gym, would mercifully disappear. We might see a few more House guys, and Senate guys, emerge.

Norman J. Ornstein is a resident scholar at AEI.