Congressional staff are employees of a legislative Congress who support legislators in their duties. They handle a variety of tasks, including policy research, constituent services, communications, and administrative support. Staffers may work with individual members of Congress, or they may be associated with committees or other organizations that support Congress.
History
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. Congress expressly authorized permanent, professional committee staff for the first time.
In the 1970s and 1990s, "staff numbers generally held level and increases were held down. After 1995, staff numbers actually decreased slightly." In 2022 and 2023, multiple House offices and one Senate office voted to unionize with the Congressional Workers Union.
Structure and organization
Staff for the United States Congress are generally divided, as C-SPAN describes, into personal staff (working directly for individual members) and committee staff (serving legislative committees). There are also leadership staff who assist party leaders in managing legislative priorities.
- Personal staff, who work for individual members of Congress
- Committee staff, who serve either the majority or minority on congressional committees
- Leadership staff, who work for the speaker, majority and minority leaders, and majority and minority whips in the House of Representatives, and the majority and minority leaders and assistant majority and minority leaders (whips) in the Senate
- Institutional staff, including majority or minority party floor staff and non-partisan staff such as the Capitol Police, Architect of the Capitol (facilities and maintenance employees), and legislative clerks.
- Support agency staff, non-partisan employees of the Congressional Research Service (CRS), Congressional Budget Office (CBO), and Government Accountability Office (GAO).
In the year 2000, there were approximately 11,692 personal staff, 2,492 committee staff, 274 leadership staff, 5,034 institutional staff, and 3,500 GAO employees, 747 CRS employees, and 232 CBO employees.
- Legislative director (LD), senior legislative assistant (SLA), or legislative coordinator (LC): oversees the legislative staff, including all legislative assistants and correspondents. There is usually one in each office.
- Legislative counsel: Some offices also have a staffing attorney who works alongside legislative staff. Their role often involves advising legislative staff and the Member on legal issues and ensuring compliance with the law and chamber rules, including ethics guidelines. Between 1789 and 2011, there were five incidents affecting some congressional staff alongside members of Congress.