[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 47 (Wednesday, March 12, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Page S1688]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                            Senate Schedule

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, two points--a short one and a long one. 
The short one is simply this: to remind my colleagues that at the 
beginning of the year, we get a Senate calendar that says what days we 
are going to be in session and what days we are not going to be in 
session.
  Between now and the end of the fiscal year, September 30, we have 16 
Fridays that we are supposed to be in session. Will we be in session on 
those Fridays? We have had a few Friday sessions this year so far, but 
I am afraid that if we don't count on being a little more devoted to a 
5-day workweek, those Fridays will slip away from us.

  I bring that to our attention because we are always complaining 
because we don't have enough time to do appropriations bills. These 
extra 16 days that we might not be in session would be a good amount of 
time to take care of the 12 appropriations bills that we have to do 
regularly.
  I always say there is enough work for a Senator, an individual 
Senator, to do 7 days a week if he wants to work. But you can't solve 
this country's problems if you are only in session 2\1/2\ or 3 days a 
week. That was the practice of the U.S. Senate before the Republicans 
took over. Republicans are supposed to make a difference, and I think a 
big difference we can make in the U.S. Senate is showing that we are 
running the U.S. Senate in a businesslike way, and that is to get more 
work done and in particular do our separate appropriations bills 
instead of doing one great big thousand-page appropriations bill just 
before government is ready to shut down.