How does your Michigan rep spend their time in Congress? Here’s how to find out

Pop quiz: Who represents you in Congress? Michigan has 13 congressional districts. Which one is yours?

Find out here, on the Congress website, by entering your address.

Every Michigan resident is also represented by two senators. They are Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters.

Let’s start with someone in the House of Representatives: Lisa McClain, R-Bruce Township.

Go to Congress.gov. Under the main search bar, you’ll see “bill searches and lists,” with options for the House and Senate. Since McClain is in the House, click “House.”

Scroll down to McClain’s name, and click on her profile.

Scroll down, and you’ll see a heading called “Member activity.” This is where you find out exactly what your member of Congress has been doing.

“Sponsored legislation” tells you about bills where a member has taken a lead role. “Co-sponsored legislation” is when others lead the bill, but the member lends support.

When you want to know what bills your representative or senator has been submitting, start with sponsored legislation.

Our interest today, though, is what members of Michigan’s congressional delegation are saying on the House or Senate floor. That’s what you’ll find in “Remarks in the Congressional Record.”

Click that. What you’ll see now is how your member of Congress has used the opportunity to speak.

This is a snippet of McClain’s 67 remarks in the Congressional Record. As with any member of Congress, some speeches will be salutary, honoring retirees or the dead. Others are remarks on policy. How effectively does your member of Congress use the available speaking time? That’s for you to decide.

Now that you know how to find this information, I am interested in what you find, and what you think about it.

Who represents you in Congress? How do they spend their time?

Email me at dickson@mackinac.org and let me know. Interesting information may result in a future CapCon story.

If nothing else, you will be more informed about your representation on the national stage.