On Wednesday, December 8, House Republicans unveiled the 2011 House legislative calendar, which represents a major departure from both the Senate work schedule and the typical House calendar.

Under the new calendar, House members will spend one week in their home district following every two weeks in session in Washington, unlike the Senate, which will follow the more traditional Congressional schedule with longer legislative sessions and recesses built around major holidays.

The new calendar, intended to provide consistency for both House members and their constituents, contains 123 days of legislative sessions, a drop from the number of days in session in non-election years like 2007 (152 days) and 2009 (148 days) but consistent with the number of days in session during election years.

“Now that we know when they’ll be home every three weeks, it will be easier for state and local sustainable agriculture groups to schedule in-district meetings with your Representatives,” said Annette Higby, Grassroots Coordinator at NSAC.  “Start thinking now about how to match your plans for communicating directly with key members of your state delegation with the new schedule.”