In The News

Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, wants to kill the congressional calendar. But it’s not what might you think.

The congressional calendar is a document, often about 100 pages long, that details Congress’ current legislative activities – including a list of every bill that’s pending in the House and Senate with a summary and other information.

Every day the House is in session, the government prints about 440 copies of it and workers deliver one to each congressional office.

If Wenstrup has his way, that practice will come to an end. On Thursday, he won passage of an amendment to the House legislative spending bill that would halt the printing and delivery of the calendar. It would still be available online.

He said it will save $200,000 a year (along with about 5 million printed pages). That’s chump change in Washington, where lawmakers are struggling to contain a spiraling $17 trillion debt.

But Wenstrup says it’s worth it. If every congressional office came up with a similar cost-saving proposal, he said, “little by little” it would start to make a dent in the annual budget.

One of Wenstrup’s staffers, Kate Raulin, came up with the idea for the amendment. After picking up the calendar every day and dumping it straight in the recycling bin, Raulin figured that other offices probably did the same.

She was right. Wenstrup said when he showed the calendar to his colleagues before offering his amendment, “They were like ‘What is that? I’ve never even seen it.’”

Wenstrup said no one uses the paper version anymore, because it’s easier to find the bill or resolution online. Under his provision, two copies of the calendar would still be printed each day for historical purposes.

The House-passed legislative spending bill will now go the Senate. “I would hope” it can pass that chamber, too, Wenstrup said.

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