What Do Members of Congress Do in August?

When the Senate breaks for recess this Friday, the Capitol will become an eerily quiet place. House members have already fled swampy D.C., along with many of their staffers. So what do they all do over these sweltering weeks? (Aside from boning up on health-care policy, that is.) Some take a break, some travel. For most, it's a chance to visit with constituents, fundraisers, and home-state lobbyists. They also tend to do something your Gagglers love doing in summer: going to state fairs, of course! (Holly will never forget the butter sculpture of Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson at last year's Iowa State Fair.) We asked Gaggle pal Rebecca Shabad to call a few folks on the Hill to find out exactly what their plans are.

Al Franken: America's newest senator will be traveling to just about every corner of his state to meet with constituents. He'll hold a couple of roundtables on health care during August. (The Gaggle will be curious to see how many protesters the well-known freshman attracts.) After spending some time in Maine with his wife's family, you"ll be able chat to the senator himself at the Minnesota State Fair, where he plans to have his own booth.

Ron Paul: Unlike most of his peers, the former presidential candidate will spend much of his break in D.C. But don't worry, he's still hosting his annual Ron Paul Family Barbeque in Galveston, Texas, on Aug. 15. He's not doing it out of the kindness of his heart, though. The BBQ will raise funds for his re-election bid, so tickets cost $20 a pop.

Dennis Kucinich: We tried finding out what this former presidential candidate will be up to over the break but were told his staff wasn't authorized to talk about it. Apparently, it's a matter of security. Curious...

John Kerry: Staff for the foreign-affairs-loving senator told the Gaggle that he'll be traveling internationally, but remained tight-lipped about where. 

Tom Harkin: The Iowan just announced that he'll spend his summer break on a "Building Iowa's Future" tour. He'll visit numerous health-care centers, present medals to veterans, and help Labor Secretary Hilda Solis break ground on a jobs center that's being funded by the Recovery Act. And he'll be blogging about it all on his Web site. His health-care-center visits should be interesting:fellow Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley has taken up position as the lead Republican negotiator on health care and ad money will pour into Iowa this month as both sides try to pressure him. Harkin is likely to feel some side effects of big ad buys on health care. 

Jim Webb: The Virginia senator is the chairman of the East Asian and Pacific Subcommittee, so he'll be spending the first two weeks of his break traveling through Asia. He'll spend the remainder in Virginia, where he'll no doubt be drafted to help Creigh Deeds in his upcoming gubernatorial race.

Richard Lugar: According to his staff, the Indiana senator won't be taking any time off over this break. Visiting food banks and holding education forums are a couple of things on his busy home-state schedule.

Mark Begich: The Alaskan senator will be playing tour guide for several of Obama's cabinet members, including Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, when they visit Bethel, a town in rural Alaska on August 12. They'll be discussing jobs, infrastructure, energy, and climate change with local leaders as part of a nationwide "listening tour" of rural America.

Kirsten Gillibrand: The freshman senator will hold economic roundtables in depressed areas of New York and will attend state fairs, including the New York State Fair, where she'll participate in that great American political tradition: the ice-cream social. We also suspect she'll be pressing some flesh for cash to help fill her campaign coffers for what is likely to be an expensive race in 2010.

Donald Payne: The New Jersey congressman has already left the country. He's accompanying Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on her trip to Africa. Payne was the first African-American elected to Congress from New Jersey and has been active on African issues, most notably Darfur. When he returns, he'll likely spend a week in a place that couldn't be more different: Martha's Vineyard.

—Reporting by Rebecca Shabad