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Rep. Rick Nolan: I want to work more!
After a 30-year hiatus, Rep. Rick Nolan is back walking the halls of the Capitol, and he’s reminiscing about the days of yore — when he actually had to work longer hours.
The Minnesota Democrat says much has changed since he last served in Congress in 1980, telling NPR’s “All Things Considered” in a recent interview, “My first term of service, we worked 48 out of the 52 weeks. If you look at the schedule for the coming year, Congress is scheduled to work 32 out of the 52 weeks.”
Nolan, who decided not to seek reelection when he left the House in 1981 after three terms in office, also says his workdays are shorter.
“Now, a day is defined quite differently. On Tuesday or Monday, you go in at 6 in the evening, when you have your votes scheduled. What you don’t finish up on that evening, you finish up the next day and the following morning at best.”
The congressman said clocking in a full day of work helped to build a rapport among his colleagues: “We were in committees every day, getting to know one another, and in the process, developing a measure of respect for one another, and in the process, learning where the opportunities for cooperation, collaboration existed."
It remains to be seen if Nolan, 69, will ever get his way. But at least he’s working in pretty nice digs.
“I retain my seniority,” Nolan said. “Out of 80 new members of Congress, I’m the only one in one of these nice [Rayburn House Office building] offices.”
