Members of the U.S. House of Representatives may have to start working five-day weeks if a resolution introduced last Thursday passes.
The resolution's author, Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.), argues that the House's workweek should run as long as most constituents' workweeks. Typically, the House sits from Monday evening through Thursday afternoon, according to The Hill.
"Average Americans work five days a week so there is no reason Congress should not be required to as well," a statement from Peters' office reads.
Peters predicts multiple benefits from more time spent in Washington. "A five-day work week would increase the time members of Congress are able to spend together working on substantive legislation and would help foster bipartisan working relationships. It would also save taxpayer money by reducing travel costs of members traveling between Washington and their districts," his statement says.
The resolution would also increase the number of weeks that the House is in session from its currently scheduled 34 to 39, according to The Hill.
Other lawmakers might argue that they're not resting simply because they're not in Washington and that time in their districts can include a lot of work.
Still, most members of Congress earn $174,000 a year, more than triple the U.S. median household income. And the last two sessions of Congress have each enacted fewer than 300 bills, making them the two least productive sessions in history according to records dating back to the 1940s, when even the "Do-Nothing Congress" of 1947-48 passed more than 900 measures.
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