Disjointed House and Senate 2011 Calendars - January 4, 2011

Potentially foreshadowing future disagreements, House and Senate leaders have released vastly different calendars for their respective chambers in 2011. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) released a more traditional calendar with nine recesses scheduled to fall largely around Federal holidays. As in previous sessions, the Senate will convene this week, but will quickly recess, not returning to work until the end of January. The House will be in session for much of January, but beginning in early February, will take periodic weeklong recesses to allow members to travel to their districts for constituent work. Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s (R-Va.) letter to his House colleagues notes that the modified schedule retains as many days in session as previous years, but 11 percent fewer weeks in session, resulting in less travel time for members.