Jack Kingston

This post was originally posted on Majority Leader John Boehner’s (R-Ohio) blog, Majority Matters.

By the end of this month, Congressman Jack Kingston (R-GA) and his office will have held 48 town hall meetings to help senior citizens sign-up for the new Medicare prescription drug benefit. This is happening in Georgia�s first Congressional district — NOT in Washington, D.C.

Congressman Frank Lucas (R-OK) holds 50 town hall meetings a year. These happen throughout his 32-county Congressional district — NOT in Washington, D.C.

The most important work a Congressman does isn�t hanging around Capitol Hill cranking out new laws and new regulations — it is visiting the world outside of Washington, helping constituents, hearing first-hand what voters care about, and then applying those lessons to their work in Washington, D.C.

An article in this morning�s USA Today suggests otherwise, and leaves the impression that the only time Members of Congress work is when they�re in Washington, D.C. The article laments a schedule that “only” has Congressmen in Washington for 97 days — gone unmentioned are the 435 Congressional districts covering the United States from sea to sea where they spend the rest of their time.

Congress doesn�t dictate an agenda to voters from the marble halls of D.C.; voters tell Congress what to do from each of their districts, cities, and towns across America. It is outside of D.C. � beyond the “beltway” - where Members of Congress learn the issues of concern to constituents, and the more time spent there, the better and more responsive the federal government can be.