Can the House of Representatives be made more family-friendly?

Yes, perhaps marginally.

Source: House.gov.

Haley Byrd Wilt has yet another good piece in the Dispatch. She begins by observing:

“Members contend with unpredictable voting schedules, frequent travel, nonstop campaign events, angry constituents, death threats, stressful fundraising demands, and stagnant wages. Without proxy voting or other remote participation procedures, their maternity leave options are limited…. Lawmakers with a spouse back home might not have to worry as much about arranging childcare, but they still miss family dinners and day-to-day parenting tasks like picking children up from school or sports practices.”

All true.

And matters are worse in the House of Representatives, where legislators only have two-year terms. That means in addition to the usual legislative work and constituent service tasks, members have to spend a ton of time hustling to fundraisers and campaigning to hold their seats. (Senators, who have six-year terms, are a little less under the re-election gun.)

So far as I can tell, there are no easy options to making things significantly better. Here’s why.

Option 1: Making Congress friendly by etting legislators mostly work form home.

Congress is in Washington, DC, and doing official business like voting, holding hearings, and developing relationships with fellow legislators need to be done in-person. Yes, Congress did some virtual hearings during the pandemic, but can anyone really argue that having legislators spend less time in-person with one another is good? Indeed, one of the common laments is that partisan toxicity is fueled by members being mostly strangers to one another. Moroever, proxy voting —letting legislators cast the votes of other legislators— clearly can be abused. It enables a legslator to never show up to work and to spend his energies doing other things, like running for local office or operating a family business.

Option 2: Make being in Congress less of a sacrifice by helping more legislators to move thier families to DC.

That was the way it used to be, and as Norm Ornstein and Tom Mann pointed out in The Broken Branch, many legislators became pals. Their kids went to the same schools and they developed a neighborly comradery akin to the ones experienced by overseas State Department families.

But getting legislators to bring their families to DC is going to be a tough sell. Again, House members face reelection every two years, which means they could move to DC only to find themselves booted form their jobs. Then there is the political peril. The legislator who puts down roots in DC is sure to be slammed by a primary challenger or general election opponent as being “out of touch” with home district and home state voters. As Wilt’s piece notes, “Former Rep. Joe Crowley, for example—the New York Democrat who was unseated in 2018 by progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez—received political attacks because of his family’s home in northern Virginia, where his kids attended school.”

Then there is the reality of life in DC. Sure, Federal City has many charms, but the public schools are mostly lousy and private ones cost $30,000-$60,000 per year. Housing is very expensive and crime is a real problem. Indeed, even members of Congress have been carjacked and victimized.

And even if all those deterrents to living in DC did not exist, there also is the work schedule. Being in Congress is not a 9-5 gig. The days often start early and almost inevitably run late. as Hill staff know all too well, you can have your family in DC or the surrounding suburbs, but you still may not see them for many minutes each day. Legislators who live in DC still will have to spend time flying back to visit their home voters a lot, which means time away from their families.

So, sure, there is no harm in increasing legislators’ child care options, and scheduling the congressional workload to fall a bit more during daylight hours.

But the harsh truth is that being in Congress means giving up lots of family time. It is a form of public service, which necessitates sacrifice. And certainly it is not the only gig that is family unfriendly—just ask a member of the military, an airline pilot ot flight attendent, ia travelling salesperson, etc.

But if you disagree and think the House can be made substantially more family-friendly, comment below!