2013 House, Senate calendars released

(Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

House lawmakers are scheduled to meet for 126 days in 2013, a slight increase from this year, but in line with the Republican strategy of giving lawmakers extended periods  to spend back home.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) released the schedule for the first session of the 113th Congress on Friday. The Senate has not yet announced its 2013 schedule, but if history is any guide, senators will generally be in session for four-week stretches between recesses.

As with both sessions of the 112th Congress, the House will keep with a two-weeks-on, one-week-off plan that was a boon for the 89 GOP freshmen lawmakers who sought reelection this year. Democrats regularly bemoaned the schedule, arguing that lawmakers should have been spending more time in Washington working to address the nation’s struggling economy and that the time spent away from the Capitol contributed to the rancorous, partisan nature of most debates.

But Cantor said Friday that lawmakers need the time back home for what his office has dubbed “district work periods.”

“Time spent in the district between Monday and Friday is essential for meeting with small businesses, employees, seniors, veterans and other local communities during working hours,” Cantor said in a message announcing the schedule. “We will continue to accommodate Members with longer distances to travel home and provide at least one constituent work week each month, with the exception of June.”

Indeed, June 2013 will be the House’s busiest month, with a whopping 16 days scheduled for legislative work in Washington. Lawmakers will meet for 14 days in July and October, 12 days in the months of March, April and May and nine days next September.

The House officially convenes for the 113th Congress on Jan. 3, when new members will be sworn in. But there are only eight days of legislative business on the calendar in January and 11 days in February.

As the holidays approach next year, the House will convene for eight days each in November and December. Keeping with tradition, there will be two days of official business at the start of August, then lawmakers will leave for their summer recess.