Members of Congress maintain two main types of offices: their Washington, D.C. (Hill) office and one or more District/State offices in their home state. Each serves distinct, but complementary, roles. 

• Washington, D.C. Office (Hill Office): Focuses on legislation, policy development, media relations, and overall office management. Most policy decisions and federal issues are handled here. Below is the most commonly used titles and functions of congressional staff serving in a member’s “hill office.” 
  • Chief of Staff: Usually handles the overall office operations, including the assignment of work and the supervision of key staff. The Chief of Staff reports directly to the senator or representative, and usually is responsible for evaluating the political outcomes of various legislative proposals and constituent requests. Meetings at this level typically require some previously established personal relationship. 
  • Legislative Director (LD): Monitors the legislative schedule and makes final recommendations regarding the pros and cons of particular issues. In some offices, the LD supervises the other legislative staff and may also handle one or two specific issue areas. 
  • Legislative Assistant (LA): Most legislative offices have several LAs who handle legislative issues within their assigned portfolio of issue areas.  
  • Legislative Correspondent (LC): Reads, logs, and tallies letters and other written correspondence from constituents and usually drafts the reply on the legislator’s behalf. An LC may also take constituent meetings if LA is unavailable. In some cases, LC’s even have a small policy portfolio themselves. 
    
  • Press Secretary/Communications Director: Actively works to earn press coverage for the member and protects the member as much as possible from bad coverage. The press secretary is expected to know the benefits, demands, and special requirements of both print and electronic media, and how to most effectively promote the member’s views or positions on specific issues. Many press secretaries double as speechwriters. This person also typically oversees the members social media platforms. 
  • Executive Assistant/Scheduler: Responsible for allocating a legislator’s time among the many demands that arise from congressional responsibilities, staff requirements, politics, and constituent requests. The scheduler may also be responsible for making necessary travel arrangements, arranging speaking dates, visits to the district, etc. Executive assistants often handle scheduling responsibilities as well as the day-to-day management of a legislator’s office. Some offices have both a scheduler/EA to focus on the member, while also employing a Director of Operations to handle the day to day office responsibilities.  
  • Staff Assistant: They are typically the first person you speak with on the phone or when you walk in the office. They manage general requests (flags, tours, and mail) and often serve as gatekeepers to higher level staff. 
    
    
• District/State Office(s): Focuses on constituent services, outreach, and local engagement. These offices help constituents with federal agencies and host local events. Below is the most commonly used titles and functions of congressional staff serving in a member’s “district office.” 
  • District Director: Manages district office(s), staff, and activities, and may also manage the member’s schedule when he or she is not in Washington. 
  • Caseworker/Field Representative: Staff member assigned to help with constituent requests. The caseworker’s responsibilities may also include helping to resolve problems for constituents in relation to federal agencies, e.g. Social Security and Medicare issues, veteran’s benefits, passports, etc.

In addition to the two positions above, most district offices will also have a staff assistant, while some may have a district-specific communications professional or district scheduler.