Congressional Calendar Roulette

For those looking ahead to next year on Capitol Hill (and who among us isn't!), the U.S. House (here (as a PDF file)) and Senate (here (HTML)) have set their legislative calendars for 2012 (the second session of the 112th Congress).  Next year, if things run as planned, the two chambers' calendars will be slightly less "out of sync" than they were in 2011, when House and Senate in-session weeks often did not coincide, self-limiting the opportunities for face-to-face, inter-chamber coordination and collaboration. 

Next year, the House will convene on January 17, following the January 16, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Federal Holiday.  The House has scheduled constituent work days and other breaks away from Washington, DC for:

• week of February 20
• week of March 12
• weeks of April 2, 9 and 30
• week of May 21 (through Memorial Day and May 29)
• week of June 11
• week of July 2
• August 6 through September 7
• week of September 24
• October 8 (Columbus Day) through November 12 (Veterans Day)
• week of November 19

The House plans to adjourn for the year on December 14.

The Senate will convene a week later than the House (on January 23), and, as in 2011, has been more frugal in scheduling time away from the Hill, planning breaks for:

• week of February 20
• weeks of April 2 and 30
• week of May 28
• week of July 2
• August 6 through September 7
• October 8 (one day)
• November 12 (one day)

Except for the last three days during the week-long break beginning May 28, all of the Senate's times off coincide with House breaks.  The House plans additional time away from Washington the weeks of March 12, April 9, June 11, September 24 and November 19, and from October 10 through November 11 (although since that latter period overlaps with the end of the campaign run-up to the November 6 general election, many Senators may find themselves back in their home states during October and early November).

The Senate, as is tradition, has not (yet) targeted a session adjournment date.