Lazy members of the Senate are facing the possibility of having to work on Christmas like millions of Americans. Majority Leader Harry Reid threatened to cancel the Senate’s Christmas vacation if they don’t get their work done before the holiday.
Sen. Reid (D-NV) said,
“We may have to be here a third week and everyone should understand that. Our most important task at hand is to pass bills to fund out government, keep it from shutting down,” Reid said on Monday afternoon shortly after the Senate began its last work period of the 113th Congress.
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
“We have a lot to do. And there isn’t much time to accomplish it. I urge all senators to work hard to complete our work in a timely and efficient fashion. We may have to be here the week before Christmas … and hopefully, not into the Christmas holiday,” he added.
Now that Harry Reid has uttered the magic words (no vacation) expect the Senate to get bills passed very quickly. Nothing motivated members of Congress like having their vacation days taken away. In many ways, it would be good for some of the most isolated members of the Senate to have to work on Christmas.
If a Mitch McConnell or Ted Cruz had to work on Christmas Day, they would temporarily join the ranks of an increasingly growing class of Americans, mostly in retail and service industries, for whom Christmas is no longer a holiday.
As USA Today reported, “A quarter of Americans will be required to work on Thanksgiving, Christmas Day or New Year’s Day this year, according to Allstate/National Journal’s annual Heartland Monitor poll, out this month. But more, 45%, said there’s at least a chance they will work one of those holidays.”
There would be something fitting about the one-percenters in the Senate being forced to show up at work on Christmas like millions of other Americans. Unless House Republicans completely self-destruct and shut down the government for a prolonged period, the odds are that the senators will be doing something that 25% don’t have the luxury of doing. They will be enjoying Christmas with their families.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
