CONGRESSIONAL STAFF AND MANAGEMENT
On April 1, 1789, the House of Representatives elected John Beckley to be Clerk of the House. He was the first congressional staffer. As the legislative workload of the Congress has grown along with an escalation of Members' perceptions of their needs as legislators and representatives of constituencies, so have the number of staff employed by congressional committees, Members of Congress, officers of the House and Senate, and by agencies created by the legislative branch to provide specialized services to it. With the growth of staff there have come attempts to improve their management and coordination and to evaluate whether there are too many Capitol Hill aides. This chapter outlines the history and reviews major developments in the growth and administration of congressional staff.
``The question of adequate and expert staff is of vital importance. Undoubtedly one of the great contributing factors to the shift of influence and power from the legislative to the executive branch in recent years is the fact that Congress has been generous in providing expert and technical personnel for the executive agencies but not for itself.''
-- Senator Robert M. LaFollette, Jr., 1943.
``. . . (T)he point is we are elected Senators and we should try to do our business, occasionally, with ourselves and among ourselves and between ourselves. Even though the staff is critically important, it is also a critical burden upon us in many situations. I say that without any gasping from the back of the Chamber which will accompany such a remark but it is very true. You cannot live with them and you cannot live without them.''
-- Senator Alan K. Simpson, 1988.