Tweet
GOP Packing it in over 5 day work week
House GOP has reasons to pack it in
House GOP has reasons to pack it in
By: Ryan Grim
Oct 9, 2007 06:13 AM EST
Rep. Ray LaHood said that the Democrats’ new five-day workweek made traveling back home that much more difficult.
House Republicans say there is a growing list of reasons to call for congressional career quits, from tighter travel restrictions to lobby-reform requirements and the likelihood of continuing minority status.
Yet only nine members of the GOP caucus have so far announced retirements. If you were a House Republican, would you run for reelection?
Rep. Ray LaHood (R-Ill.), 61, one of those who announced he’s packing it in, said that the Democrats’ new five-day workweek made traveling back home that much more difficult.
“I do think the schedule and the flying is a huge pain for people, particularly those who are from the Midwest or even further West,” he said, adding that it’s “probably the worst part of the job.”
“I think that has played into these retirement announcements,” said the seven-term congressman from Peoria.
Former Rep. Martin Frost (D-Texas), who chaired the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in 1996, said it’s tough to stop retirements. “You have to constantly try to prop people up,” he said. “You lose staff. Sometimes you lose committee assignments. You lose committee staff.”
To a member in the minority, a number of options are attractive, he said, including runs for governor or the Senate or a more lucrative career lobbying. “The ink was hardly dry on [Pete V.] Domenici’s statement before [Rep. Heather Wilson (R-N.M.)] jumped in the race,” said Frost, referring to the Republican senator from New Mexico who recently announced his retirement.
Money comes into play, too. “That’s a real issue for a lot of members who are concerned about planning for their own retirement or who may have children who haven’t gone to college yet,” he said.
In 1996, there was no mass exodus of congressional Democrats after the party lost the majority in 1994 following 40 years of dominance, which impressed long-serving Republicans. “We thought there would be [a mass departure], but there wasn’t,” said Republican Rep. Sam Johnson, a nine-term Texan who turns 77 this week. Twenty-eight Democrats and 21 House Republicans left the House in 1996.
This time could be different, he said, citing travel restrictions and lobbying reform. “We’re prevented from having a hamburger with someone,” he said. “You can’t take a private plane anymore. ... I feel for the guys that are way out there” on the West Coast or in the Midwest, said Johnson, who can catch a nonstop flight to Dallas.
Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) is one of the guys Johnson is feeling for. Simpson, 57, connects through Salt Lake City and often leaves on Sunday to get to Washington on Monday. Getting back home, though, is the real problem.
Recently, the airlines determined that members of Congress could no longer reserve more than one flight at a time. Because the general public can’t do the same thing, the privilege was deemed a gift under the new lobbying reform guidelines.
That makes life tough for people like Simpson, in his fifth term, who rarely knows exactly when the work will end in Washington. “I don’t have a plane going to Idaho every two hours,” he said. “Those flights fill up if I don’t book a week in advance.”
House GOP has reasons to pack it in
By: Ryan Grim
Oct 9, 2007 06:13 AM EST
Rep. Ray LaHood said that the Democrats’ new five-day workweek made traveling back home that much more difficult.
House Republicans say there is a growing list of reasons to call for congressional career quits, from tighter travel restrictions to lobby-reform requirements and the likelihood of continuing minority status.
Yet only nine members of the GOP caucus have so far announced retirements. If you were a House Republican, would you run for reelection?
Rep. Ray LaHood (R-Ill.), 61, one of those who announced he’s packing it in, said that the Democrats’ new five-day workweek made traveling back home that much more difficult.
“I do think the schedule and the flying is a huge pain for people, particularly those who are from the Midwest or even further West,” he said, adding that it’s “probably the worst part of the job.”
“I think that has played into these retirement announcements,” said the seven-term congressman from Peoria.
Former Rep. Martin Frost (D-Texas), who chaired the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in 1996, said it’s tough to stop retirements. “You have to constantly try to prop people up,” he said. “You lose staff. Sometimes you lose committee assignments. You lose committee staff.”
To a member in the minority, a number of options are attractive, he said, including runs for governor or the Senate or a more lucrative career lobbying. “The ink was hardly dry on [Pete V.] Domenici’s statement before [Rep. Heather Wilson (R-N.M.)] jumped in the race,” said Frost, referring to the Republican senator from New Mexico who recently announced his retirement.
Money comes into play, too. “That’s a real issue for a lot of members who are concerned about planning for their own retirement or who may have children who haven’t gone to college yet,” he said.
In 1996, there was no mass exodus of congressional Democrats after the party lost the majority in 1994 following 40 years of dominance, which impressed long-serving Republicans. “We thought there would be [a mass departure], but there wasn’t,” said Republican Rep. Sam Johnson, a nine-term Texan who turns 77 this week. Twenty-eight Democrats and 21 House Republicans left the House in 1996.
This time could be different, he said, citing travel restrictions and lobbying reform. “We’re prevented from having a hamburger with someone,” he said. “You can’t take a private plane anymore. ... I feel for the guys that are way out there” on the West Coast or in the Midwest, said Johnson, who can catch a nonstop flight to Dallas.
Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) is one of the guys Johnson is feeling for. Simpson, 57, connects through Salt Lake City and often leaves on Sunday to get to Washington on Monday. Getting back home, though, is the real problem.
Recently, the airlines determined that members of Congress could no longer reserve more than one flight at a time. Because the general public can’t do the same thing, the privilege was deemed a gift under the new lobbying reform guidelines.
That makes life tough for people like Simpson, in his fifth term, who rarely knows exactly when the work will end in Washington. “I don’t have a plane going to Idaho every two hours,” he said. “Those flights fill up if I don’t book a week in advance.”
Comment