[2] In the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946, which reformed Congress and greatly reduced the number of congressional committees,[3] Congress expressly authorized permanent, professional committee staff for the first time.
[3] The size of both personal and committee staff increased considerably after the passage of the Legislative Reorganization Act.
[2] Following the significant increase in 1947, there was gradual growth in the number of both kinds of staff for about twenty years.
[2] Increased staff specialization also occurred during this period of slow growth (i.e., staffers began to be divided into press, legislative, and casework roles).
"[2] The political scientist Morris P. Fiorina, in his book Congress: Keystone of the Washington Establishment, found that the number of congressional staff more than doubled between 1960 and 1974.
"[2] In 2021 a group of staffers called Congressional Progressive Staff Association sought to push for workplace measures and with the support of Representative Andy Levin make incremental reforms.
[10][11][12] Between 1789 and 2011, there were five incidents affecting some congressional staff alongside members of Congress.