Back to Spend some moreRep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) promised his children for months that he would spend one uninterrupted August week with them in Hawaii.
But House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) had other plans for Chaffetz and the rest of the House. On Tuesday, Chaffetz will complete nearly 24 hours of round-trip air travel just to vote no on a
$26 billion state aid bill unexpectedly tossed onto the schedule in the middle of the quiet August recess.
?I will gladly come to vote no on this out-of-control-spending bill; I have no complaints,? Chaffetz told POLITICO by phone Monday to the sound of waves crashing in the background near his family?s time share. ?There are no sour grapes. But you have to book these trips a year in advance. It?s not as if you can change them.?
While few voters will have sympathy for the disruption of lawmakers? vacations, the act of calling the entire House back into session is a massive logistical lift,
launching hundreds of expensive, last-minute flights at taxpayer expense and forcing the Capitol complex to staff up at a higher level than usual during a recess and increase the Capitol Police presence. Inside the Capitol, the switchboards will light up, the C-SPAN cameras will click on, and thousands of staffers donning flip-flops and jeans will have to grab their suits and ties again.
Not only are lawmakers from both parties rescheduling vacations, they?re canceling town halls, putting off job fairs and nixing campaign events.
?We love the [state aid] bill, but we just weren?t expecting the Senate to do anything,? said a Democratic aide who said he?s grateful his boss lives on the East Coast. ?That seems to be the normal way of functioning on many of our bills we send over there. In some ways, we were happy, but we were definitely surprised.?
Many members would prefer face time with their constituents ahead of the November midterms, and some are making no secret about their displeasure.
?I?m disappointed to say the least,? said Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah), who was forced to cancel a key town hall meeting.
?I think one of the problems Congress is suffering from right now is not enough time to listen to constituents, so it?s a little frustrating that Speaker Pelosi has chosen to interrupt the time working in our districts to make us all fly back to Washington to basically vote on one bill,? Bishop added.
?This is not the greatest way to run Congress or the country.? Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) was scheduled to speak at an event for National Health Center Week, but the event was postponed because of the vote.
?I?m disappointed that I had to cancel this week?s event marking National Health Center Week,? Hoyer said in a statement to POLITICO. ?However, I think it is appropriate and necessary to return to session this week to vote on legislation to ensure that over 2,500 teachers in Maryland have jobs when children return to school this month.?
Indiana Rep. Mike Pence, a member of the Republican leadership, is canceling his appearance at the Ball State University job fair that his office organizes each year. Unemployment in Muncie, where the fair will be held, is hovering around 12 percent.
Many lawmakers are merely missing out on some personal time with loved ones.
?When I got this notice, I said ?ugh,?? said Rep. Charles Gonzalez (D-Texas), who canceled a four-day escape with his girlfriend to Santa Fe, N.M.
?No one is going to feel sorry for a member of Congress. ... The most overriding consideration is that this piece of legislation is so important to so many families,? Gonzalez said. ?Hey, it is an inconvenience. There?s personal disappointment among members and their families. But the benefits that are going to be derived by this vote override that consideration.?
Several congressional aides said they scrambled over the past few days to book last-minute airfares, which are likely to cost taxpayers extra cash. There were a few tense moments in Rep. Lois Capps?s office last week as a steady busy signal from United Airlines delayed the scheduler from booking the lawmaker a flight back to Washington from her California district.
For Chaffetz, the round trip from Hawaii to Washington will cost about $1,000 ? an expense he plans to help cover personally or through his campaign so taxpayers don?t have to pick up the tab.
?With voters becoming more concerned about spending, this is not a politically smart move on the Democrats? part,? said Mattie Corrao, government affairs manager of Americans for Tax Reform.
Griping House lawmakers can blame Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid for the quickie House session. In a surprise vote, Reid last week led Senate Democrats to overcome a Republican filibuster to pass a massive spending bill designed to prevent 140,000 teachers and a slew of police officers from having their jobs cut.
?It is going to be very difficult for the House to be out for five weeks,? Reid said after the Senate passed the bill.
Reid was right. Not long after the Senate vote, Pelosi posted a tweet announcing Tuesday?s session that rattled Capitol Hill.
But not every congressional office is cracking the whip.
?Ironically, Congressman Pence will miss the job fair in his district tomorrow so he can come to Washington to vote on yet another job-killing Democrat bailout bill that includes more wasteful ?stimulus? spending and tax hikes on U.S. job creators,? said Pence?s spokesman, Matt Lloyd.
Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) allowed aides who were already on vacation to stay away from Washington.
Members who are slightly closer to Washington, including Rep. Bob Latta (R-Ohio), plan to fly in and out on the same day, hoping votes will wrap up by midafternoon.
The offices of the architect of the Capitol and the House sergeant-at-arms and the U.S. Capitol Police said the special session will require minimal changes to their operations. The sergeant-at-arms will call in the chamber security floor staff who would normally be off during most of the August recess.
But for a select few members, overnight travel is nothing new.
Rep. Charles Djou (R-Hawaii) is used to 24 hours of travel time for votes.
?Congressman Djou considers it a profound privilege to represent the people of Hawaii in Congress and would not miss a vote unless it was completely unavoidable,? said his spokesman, Daniel Son.
Not showing any signs of stopping, either. At least not until Nov
