Congress’ August Recess Is America’s Only Required Vacation

Isn't this the truth.

The Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970 requires that the House and Senate take a break “not later than July 31 of each year,” or in an odd-numbered year “that Friday in August which occurs at least thirty days before the first Monday in September (Labor Day) of such year to the second day after Labor Day.” Congress can stay if the country is in a state of war, but that hasn’t happened since 1941. The law was passed after Congressional sessions had stretched so long that in 1963, the session began in January and ended in December with just a three-day weekend as a break in the whole time.

It's time we get our vacations back instead of working longer hours. This kind of went away when unions did. You're on your own!

The American worker, on the other hand, could very well get no days off from work in a year. We are the only advanced country in the world that doesn’t guarantee that workers get some paid vacation time. There is no law, as there is for Congress, making sure they can take a break. The European Union, on the other hand, requires 20 paid vacation days, and many countries go further, such as the mandated 30 days in France, 28 in the United Kingdom, and 25 in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. Even our northerly neighbors Canada require 10.
Many American employers offer vacation time anyway, but the number is shrinking, not growing. More than 80 percent of workers got paid vacation days two decades ago, but just 77 percent do today. Those who are getting the benefit get more days than before, 20 compared to 15. But most people don’t even use all of their time off, with the average employee taking only half of it. Many say they feel like they can’t be disconnected from work. And the increase in vacation days is counteracted by a decline in the number of paid holidays, which dropped from ten to eight.
Indeed, the United States doesn’t guarantee paid holidays either, unlike 13 other developed countries. That means, for example, that companies like Walmart, Gap, and Target were completely in their rights when they opened on Thanksgiving Day last year and made workers come in to work.

Sometimes I do believe the people in the U.S. are simply...retarded.

We eat crap food, work longer for less, believe all the lies because we are afraid.

Time for that to change? I firmly believe so.

thinkprogress.org...

A month long required vacation from work every year. Then they don't even have to show up at all their meetings if they don't want to. I could never do that job, they wouldn't let me in the door. I would try to introduce bills to actually force the congressmen to work a minimum of forty hours a week. Maybe the congressmen could get some paint and paint the white house a different color in that month. Oh that is right, it is not white anymore, Obama lives there.
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a reply to: rickymouse

Allegedly it's so they can get back to their districts. Which they should be doing all the time anyway?

Sometimes I do believe the people in the U.S. are simply...retarded.

We eat crap food, work longer for less, believe all the lies because we are afraid.

Time for that to change? I firmly believe so.

a reply to: ~Lucidity

You're absolutely right! The American people will attack the very programs that will benefit them, but defend the elite, mult-billion corporations and government military and foreign aid waste. They argue American citizens should get less because it's costing government too much. Yet their own representatives are making salaries 3 or 4 times the average American worker, have benefits up the ying yang, and vacation time the majority of Americans can only dream of!

Every time we vote an incumbent back into office, we're telling them to continue business as usual. We allow them to continue to cater to corporations, ignore passing term limits, continue to remove and attack programs that benefit the elderly, the poor and middle class, continue to throw money at programs that benefit the rich, corporations and the military complex.

Corporations and businesses continue to sing the blues about employee labor costs, yet they ignore the fact that these same employees are the backbone of their business and economy of this country. Without them, their business wouldn't stay a float and their luxury life style and the money in their pockets would dwindle!

a reply to: WeRpeons

We are controlled by our own fear, primarily based on what they tell us.

We've been beaten into submission. We take less time off, work for less, all because we fear losing our jobs?

Well guess what? if we stood united, we'd win.

But they beat that ability out of us too...made us hate unity and strength in numbers. And those who believe that lie are just enabling them.

People need to take a good, hard look around and realize that we have and need each other.

So what would they do if no one showed up to work for a week? Freak? Kill us?

a reply to: ~Lucidity

Don't you find interesting that congress goes on vacation while ebola is been introduced into America soil?, I may be grasping for air, but darn I can not stop thinking about that "coincidence".

a reply to: marg6043

Yes, and have said that quite a few times already in a couple of threads. In fact, it was in looking to see just how long their vacation was that I ran across this and thought I'd post it as a separate thread.

Just another dot to keep an eye on, I reckon.

a reply to: ~Lucidity

I don't want to be an alarmist or sound like one, but when I get this restless moments I know that something is not right, I am restless at this moment since I found out that ebola has come to a hospital in the state I live in, GA.

I will be traveling to PR to visit family at the end of the month, if by then I hear that somebody has gotten infected outside the hospital in Atlanta I will stay in PR.

I been serious,

a reply to: marg6043
I'm extremely jumpy too. And live in Atlanta too. This jumpiness hasn't happened in a very, very long time.

I don't blame you for staying away. We can only hope for the best outcome.

A little time to catch up on their "Insider Trading".

a reply to: ugmold
And count their money.