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House Democrats Release 2019 Legislative Schedule

Calendar reflects accommodations for members with young families, Hoyer says

House Democrats released the legislative schedule for 2019 on Thursday. Above, Georgia Rep. John Lewis, left, and House Minority Whip Steny H. Hoyer leave the Capitol Visitor Center auditorium Wednesday during a break in the House Democrats’ leadership elections. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)
House Democrats released the legislative schedule for 2019 on Thursday. Above, Georgia Rep. John Lewis, left, and House Minority Whip Steny H. Hoyer leave the Capitol Visitor Center auditorium Wednesday during a break in the House Democrats’ leadership elections. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

House Democrats have released the chamber’s floor schedule for 2019, which includes 130 days in session over 33 weeks and was tailored to accommodate the influx of lawmakers with young families joining the House next year.

“As we welcome a large class of new members, many with young families, next year’s schedule is focused on balancing time in Washington with time for Members to conduct work in their districts and spend time with their families,” incoming House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland said in a statement accompanying the calendar’s release.

The House will be in recess, or a “district work period,” for at least a week each month, except for June. That will be partially offset by a late summer break from the Capitol that is scheduled to go from July 29 to Sept. 6. 

Late-night votes in the House could be a thing of the past, if the Democrats’ vision becomes reality. Late-vote series will be reserved for spending bills. Votes on standard legislation would be kept between 1 p.m. and 7 p.m., according to Hoyer.

Fly-in and fly-out day schedules will look similar to what’s been standard under Republican control. The first roll call votes of the week will be held at 6:30 p.m. and final votes of the week won’t be scheduled after 3 p.m., allowing members to maximize time in their districts over the weekends.

The calendar released Thursday has an air of nostalgia to it: the title of the page — which appears on the browser tab — reads January 2007, the last time the Democrats took back the House.

Screen Shot 2018-11-29 at 10.17.11 AMCorrection 1:55 p.m. | An earlier version of this story misidentified the part of the calendar that was labeled January 2007. It was the title of the page and not the calendar file.

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