everyday living expenses, and you have hill staffers, both democratic and republican, who are saying that now is really a time to make a change. if it's going to happen at all, the sort of moment and the zeitgeist right now would suggest that now is the time to do this and push forward. >> so you're talking about the financial component, but what about the work-life balance here? i mean, what kind of duties do these congressional aides have every day? how long are their hours? >> they're long. i mean, it's a 12 to 14-hour day. it really depends on the boss and when i say boss, it depends on the member that they serve, and it depends on where that member lives, what district they represent. imagine if you're somebody who represents the west coast, then that obviously changes your hours here on the east coast. but -- and it also -- it's highly dependent on the whims of a member. if he or she is very active in the media and needs someone to write speeches or needs someone