House to work 132 days in 2015

The House will convene for the 114th Congress on Jan. 6 and is scheduled to be in session for 132 days next year, according to a 2015 calendar released Tuesday by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).

{mosads}The chamber will be in session for six more days than in the last Congress, and the scheduled number of workdays is above the 128-day average for a first session of Congress, according to figures provided by McCarthy’s office.

In a memo to House Republicans, McCarthy said that floor votes will be scheduled in the afternoon and early evening hours. He said no votes would occur past 7 p.m., with the exception of votes on appropriations bills that often last late into the night.

McCarthy also plans to continue the longstanding practice of scheduling the last votes of the week no later than 3 p.m., so members can head back to their districts for the weekend.

Incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has not yet released the 2015 schedule for the upper chamber.

With Democrats in charge of the Senate, there were numerous weeks during which one chamber would be in Washington, while the other was out.

That’s expected to change next year with the GOP controlling both the House and Senate.

See the calendar here.