The U.S. House of Representatives plans to spend far more time on vacation next year than time actually working in the lower chamber, largely to give House members a chance to campaign in their home districts ahead of November's election.
House members are only scheduled to work 111 days in 2016, or just 25 full four-day or five-day work weeks, according to the 2016 calendar released Tuesday by Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., reported The New York Times.
That means lawmakers will be out of town for 149 days next year, a similar workload to 2012, when the House was only in session for 109 days, according to The Fiscal Times.
The House will start its summer break on July 15 and will have off seven weeks, returning on Sept. 6. The recess is two weeks longer than the ones taken in 2015 and 2014, partially to allow members to attend the Republican and Democratic presidential nominating conventions in July, according to The Hill. Republicans are meeting in Cleveland from July 18 to 21, and Democrats will be in Philadelphia from July 25 to 28.
And then, to allow incumbents and challengers a chance to campaign in their districts, another recess comes on Sept. 30 and stretches all the way through October and half of November. They will return the Monday after the election, on Nov. 14.
"This calendar ensures that 'the People's House' always remains in-touch with those back home," McCarthy said in a statement. "Discussing ideas and concerns is a critical function of a responsive, representative democracy, and for this reason, our schedule will continue to provide members considerable time for constituent services in their districts each month."
Most of the other months in 2016 follow the typical schedule of three weeks in Washington and one week in their home district.
In the Senate, lawmakers have a similar schedule and an identical summer break, but they are tentatively scheduled to work during the first week of October, before leaving on Oct. 7 to campaign, according to The NY Times.
