House kills congressional page program

[marmar]

House leaders announced Monday that they are terminating the long-running congressional page program for high school students--both out of cost considerations, and in recognition of the diminished demand for page services in the digital age. Officials with the page program say that pages have been assisting House members for nearly 200 years (though the term "page" wasn't documented until the 20th Congress, which was in session from 1827 to 1829.)

Speaker John Boehner and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi jointly released the following statement:

We have great appreciation for the unique role that Pages have played in the history and traditions of the House of Representatives. This decision was not easy, but it is necessary due to the prohibitive cost of the program and advances in technology that have rendered most Page-provided services no longer essential to the smooth functioning of the House. Although the traditional mission of the Page Program has diminished, we will work with Members of the House to carry on the tradition of engaging young people in the work of the Congress.

The program currently accepts applications from high school juniors with a 3.0 or higher GPA to assist House members, primarily by delivering documents, messages, and letters for them.

But Boehner and Pelosi said an independent review of the program found a reduced need for pages now that many documents are electronic, and since lawmakers field their own phone messages via electronic devices. A review of the page program's annual cost estimated that it eats up $5 million plus expenses related to the dormitory and school, putting the overall "per page"cost somewhere between $69,000 and $80,000. ...........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/house-kills-congressional-page-program-210104192.html

[CreekDog]

1. i heard there were some other issues too

it was in all the papers.

[Bragi]

2. How can reducing youth civic engagement be a bad thing?

This move looks to be a perfect fit with the overall GOP youth vote suppression campaign.

What with the need to continue tax breaks for Lear jet owners, this cutback is clearly necessary.

[CBGLuthier]

3. Too busy fucking us to have time for fucking pages.

Interpret how you will.

[woodsprite]

4. That must have fallen under the category "other duties, as assigned". n/t