Cantor releases 2013 House calendar

House Majority leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) released the 2013 calendar for the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday.

The 113th Congress will commence when new members are sworn in on Jan. 3, 2013.
 

“Part of our goal in scheduling the House is to ensure that we never lose touch with the constituents we each represent while completing our work in Washington,” Cantor wrote in a letter to House members. “Time spent in the district between Monday and Friday is essential for meeting with small businesses, employees, seniors, veterans, and other local communities during working hours.”
 
Cantor said every month except for June would accommodate for a “constituent work week,” so members can return to their districts. Other reforms include blocking off mornings for committee work and limiting floor votes in the afternoon, which Cantor says will bring “increased predictability to members’s schedules and efficiency to the committees and floor.”
 
 “Our country faces enormous challenges in the months and years ahead,” Cantor concluded. “The House’s 2013 calendar is set — it is now up to us to find common ground to deliver results for the people who elect us.”

Senate majority whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) also released the Senate calendar on Friday. The Senate will commence on Jan. 3, with the inauguration taking place on Martin Luther King Day, Jan. 21.

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