Senate Takes Vacation but Not From Politics

Nov. 29, 2007— -- For most Americans, Thanksgiving '07 is nothing but a fond (or frazzled) memory of turkey, cranberries and traffic jams.

But while most Americans are lucky to get two days off for Thanksgiving, their elected lawmakers on Capitol Hill gave themselves two weeks this year.

And most senators are taking advantage of this second week of Thanksgiving celebration. They're meeting with constituents in their home states, flying to Iraq to meet with U.S. troops or heading way down South where it's a bit warmer to meet with heads of state.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, for instance, is flying down to Brazil.

Reid, D-Nev., is leading a bipartisan trip of five Democrats and two Republicans south of the equator. They didn't go for the weather, though. The stated purpose of the trip is to "show the United States' commitment to strengthening ties with our neighbors in Latin America."

The senators have planned meetings with the presidents of Guatemala, Colombia, Paraguay and Mexico "to discuss issues vital for the security and economy of the United States," according to a statement from Reid's office.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz, who has tied his presidential campaign to his support for the war in Iraq, quietly took his seventh trip to the war zone and met with American troops and Iraqi leaders.

But not everyone is getting to take full advantage of the time outside the Beltway.

One Democrat has been coming in every three days to convene a special, lonely session of Congress to keep President Bush from sneaking in any recess appointments that Democrats might find unadvisable.

Last week it was Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., who braved the traffic from his Virginia home to cross the Potomac and call the Senate to order.

On "Black Friday," the traditional day of shopping deals and steals the day after Thanksgiving, Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., traded the Columbia Mall for the Senate gavel.

And for the past two session, the duty has fallen to Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I.

The special sessions go something like this: The senator, in this case Reed, calls the Senate to order.

The clerk reads a letter from Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W. Va., the nonagenarian President pro tempore, appointing Reed the presiding officer.

Then Reed quickly gavels the session closed with none of the people's business actually conducted.