House to Meet for 113 Days in 2020, Schedule Maximizes District Time With Constituents

WASHINGTON – The House will convene for its second session on January 7, 2020, and meet for 113 days, according to a legislative calendar released Thursday by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer.

The Maryland Democrat said the calendar has been arranged to ensure members “get their legislative work done in Washington while allowing them ample time to meet directly with constituents in their home districts.”

Hoyer noted that the 113-day schedule for 2020 is similar to the 109 days the House was scheduled to meet in the second year of the then-new Republican House majority in 2012.

While the House met for twenty-eight weeks in 2012 and will do so again next year, two more of those weeks in 2020 will be five-day weeks.  Most of the remainder will be four-day weeks. 

As was the case this year, there will be no votes scheduled in the House before 1:00 p.m. or after 7:00 p.m., except during consideration of appropriations bills. 

If necessary, the House may debate and consider other legislation after 7:00 p.m., but no votes will be held past that time. 

On the first day of each week, votes will occur at 6:30 p.m. The last votes of the week may be necessary prior to 1:00 p.m. and will not occur after 3:00 p.m.

“The 2020 schedule continues this dual commitment to providing time for important work both in Washington and in our districts,” Hoyer said.  “Like the 2019 schedule, it also ensures that committees have the time they need to hold hearings and conduct critical oversight. 

“As we move into the Second Session, Democrats will use our Majority to ensure that the House continues addressing the most pressing concerns of the American people” the Majority Leader said. “These include continuing efforts to bring down health care costs, addressing the need for infrastructure investment, confronting the climate crisis, and expanding economic opportunity so that all of our people can make it in America.”

Since 2020 is a presidential election year, there are a number of predictable off weeks. The House will not be in session the week of July 13, when Democrats gather in Milwaukee for their national convention.

The Republican National Convention takes place during the regularly scheduled August recess.

House Democrats are scheduled to hold their annual issues retreat on Jan. 28-30.

The Republicans, meanwhile, have opted to schedule their conference for April 22-24, which will follow closely after the two-week recess for Easter and Passover.

The 2020 calendar for the U.S. House of Representatives can be viewed here.

At that site it can be downloaded as a printer-friendly PDF or viewed as an always-up-to-date digital version that can be subscribed to as a web calendar through Outlook, Google Calendar, iOS’s calendar app, or many other calendar programs.

The digital calendar is also available to view or subscribe through the DomeWatch app (iOS or Android). 

The U.S. House of Representatives schedule for calendar year 2020 one-pager, provided by Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, can be viewed here.