Many NCAA tournament games are played during work hours, forcing lawmakers and staffers to miss them as they slave away in the Capitol (or watch them online or even sneak away to a bar where they might be airing).

But now there’s a way for college basketball fans working in the Senate to keep up on this year’s games without resorting to bandwidth-hogging or truancy.

TruTV, the cable channel that is airing much of the tournament, has been added to the Senate’s in-house television system, HOH has learned. Staffers will be able to catch their favorite matchups and track their brackets from the comfort of their desks.

“I guess having the games on TV is better than clogging up all the Web servers and making folks watch online,” a tipster tells HOH.

Folks in the Senate aren’t the only ones gearing up for the annual championship tournament.

Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.) is so pumped for tonight’s University of Connecticut game that he penned a letter to NCAA and CBS execs asking that it be shown on network television in his home state. The game is set to air on TNT, and Courtney is concerned that those without cable will miss it.