Congressional staff

Congressional staff are employees of the United States Congress or individual members of Congress.

Before the American Civil War, members of Congress did not have staff assistance or even offices, and "most members worked at their desks on the floor."

In 1891, Congress had a total of 146 staff members: 37 Senate personal staff, 39 Senate committee staff, and 62 House committee staff (37 of whom only worked during congressional sessions). The House first approved personal staff for Representatives in 1893. By the beginning of the 20th century, congressional staff had become well-accepted feature of congressional operations.

In 1943, House committees employed 114 staff members, while Senate committees employed 190 staff members. The size of individual members' personal staffs were still relatively small, with the average senator having six staffers and representatives limited to having five staffers. In the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946, which reformed Congress and greatly reduced the number of congressional committees, Congress expressly authorized permanent, professional committee staff for the first time. The act provided for a much-needed increase in committee staff, allowing for up to four professional and six clerical staff members for each standing committee, except for the appropriations committees (which had no limitation on the number of staff members). The 1946 act also reorganized the Library of Congress and created the Legislative Reference Service (which later became the Congressional Research Service) as a distinct entity. The size of both personal and committee staff increased considerably after the passage of the Legislative Reorganization Act. Following the significant increase in 1947, there was gradual growth in the number of both kinds of staff for about twenty years. Increased staff specialization also occurred during this period of slow growth (i.e., staffers began to be divided into press, legislative, and casework roles).

In the 1970s, there was again a sharp jump in the number of staff. This was a response "in part to increased workloads and in part to confrontation with the executive branch on various issues, including the president's impoundment of funds and the Watergate crisis." The political scientist Morris P. Fiorina, in his book Congress: Keystone of the Washington Establishment, found that the number of congressional staff more than doubled between 1960 and 1974. The increase was mostly in district or state offices; the percentage of congressional staff who worked in a district office went from 14% in 1960 to 34% in 1974.

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