WASHINGTON — Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., like many of his colleagues in Congress, starts his days early.

The alarm clock goes off at 5:30 a.m., and he reads through three newspapers before going for a run on the National Mall.

Then it’s a quick shower before heading off to his Senate office for a full day’s work that will include several meetings, briefings, committee hearings, floor speeches and media events, choreographed around unpredictable vote calls.

“I do look forward, when the alarm goes off in the morning, to digging into what’s going on around the world that day,” he said. “On the one hand, it’s work, but on the other hand, I enjoy it. I truly love knowing that I’m able to make a difference on an issue.”

To get an idea of how members of Congress fill their weeks in Washington, the Chattanooga Times Free Press requested copies of the schedules of area lawmakers for the month of July before Congress adjourned for the August recess.

All of the lawmakers — Sens. Corker; Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn.; Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga.; Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., and U.S. Reps. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn.; Lincoln Davis, D-Tenn.; and Nathan Deal, R-Ga. — complied with the request.

The schedules showed tightly planned days and filled agendas.

Even breakfasts are used for business, whether it’s a caucus, weekly bipartisan prayer gathering or constituent meet-and-greets over coffee and doughnuts, that Sens. Corker and Alexander co-host every Tuesday.

Steve Carpinelli, a spokesman for the Center for Public Integrity, which advocates transparency in government, said most members of Congress carry heavy workloads, even during recess periods. When Congress is not in session, most lawmakers are holding town halls or other constituent events in their home districts and states, he said.

“They have a big schedule, and they have two lives, one in their home districts and one here in Washington,” he said. “Certainly they’re kept busy. They’re dealing with their staff and becoming experts on all kinds of legislation or issues.”

But David Williams, vice president of Citizens Against Government Waste, said not to feel sorry for any members of Congress, who earn $169,300 annually.

“Come on, it’s a job that people fight for and spend millions of dollars to try and get, so it can’t be that tough,” Mr. Williams said. “They’re treated like kings, and they have staffs of 20 people, whose job it is to say yes to them and remind them how great they are. I’m not going to shed a tear for them.”

BUSY DAYS, HARD AT WORK

Sen. Isakson acknowledged that many people view federal lawmakers as privileged fat cats in Washington, but he said changes to ethics laws have cleaned up many of the excesses.

“There was a time, and it wasn’t that long ago, maybe 30 years ago, where you had the free haircuts and the free gym and the free this and that,” he said. “You could use campaign contributions for private use. There’s a lot of people who remember that and don’t pay attention to the changes that were made.”

Sen. Isakson said he finds his packed schedule challenging and rewarding.

In his schedule provided to the Times Free Press, on July 30, Sen. Isakson’s began the day at 8 a.m. with a prayer breakfast. At 9:30 a.m., he met with an Air Force official, before heading to a 10 a.m. bill mark-up in the Senate Committee on Small Business.

At 11:30 a.m., he met with a bipartisan group of senators called the “Gang of 10” working on an energy package. Noon brought a photo session with visiting Georgia constituents, and 12:30 p.m. was lunch with a legislative fellow.

The rest of the day included a meeting with state Sens. Jeff Mullis, R-Chickamauga, and Doug Stoner, D-Smyrna, on a proposed high-speed rail line; a conference call with Georgia media executives on a proposed media shield law; a session with a visiting Taiwan delegation; another Gang of 10 meeting; and a policy dinner at 6 p.m.

“I enjoy the variety of the day,” Sen. Isakson said. “You go from one thing to the next, pillar to post, lunch to dinner, reception to private secured briefing. It never gets dull.”

Rep. Deal said life in Congress isn’t as glamorous as some would think.

“I don’t have a car in Washington, so I walk everywhere I need to go,” he said.

What many people don’t realize, Rep. Davis said, is how much information about bills and issues of the day lawmakers must be well-versed on.

“I’ve probably read more in the last six years since I’ve been in Congress than I have in my life, because I need to know what’s going on,” he said.

Sen. Corker said he makes it a priority to schedule as many briefings as possible with experts and officials to get the best information firsthand. On July 16, for instance, Sen. Corker’s schedule showed three briefings on energy issues and one each on banking, immigration and trade with Colombia.

“We bring the experts in, and on topics I know are sticky issues, like the economy or energy, we ask a lot of questions,” he said.

Comments