Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 July 2006
Given our national obsession with efficiency, time management, and resource allocation, it is astounding that political scientists have not recently examined the organizational structure of congressional offices. Between the House of Representatives and Senate, there are 535 individual fiefdoms that employ those who toil away on Capitol Hill. What becomes abundantly clear from working on the Hill is that each of these offices marches to the beat of a different drummer. Every morning, after the ritualistic quest for coffee and the obligatory trot through security scanners, over 17,000 staffers find their way and open the doors to their respective offices. It is assumed that what works for one office is not a panacea for all.