The high school juniors hail from all around the country and must apply to be sponsored by a senator. During the first impeachment trial of President Donald Trump, the pages could be seen running papers and delivering glasses of water — and sometimes milk — to the senators who were forced to stay in the chamber for hours on end during the proceedings. The second time around, during the pandemic, there was a lot less milk as senators were left to fend for themselves.
Because pages are underage, the program would not share information about whether there will be changes to how the students live in the dormitories. Michael Bennet said. The Colorado Democrat, who was a congressional page himself about four decades ago, sees the program as a way to get kids excited about public service.
While teens will soon roam the halls of the Senate again, the House side will remain page-free, as it has been for a decade. Congressional leaders scuttled the House program in , citing costs and rising technology that made some of the duties obsolete. Others blamed the conduct of GOP Rep. Mark Foley, who resigned in after sending sexually explicit messages to underage pages. Skip to Content. In the s and early s, some House pages were as young as 10 and Senate pages as young as Later, they were as old as At various times, congressional actions related to employing pages have addressed the lack of supervised housing as well as pages' ages, tenure, selection, education, and management.
Far-reaching reforms in the page system were implemented in and , following press reports of insufficient supervision, alleged sexual misconduct, and involvement in the trafficking of drugs on Capitol Hill. Most reports of misbehavior were later found to be unsubstantiated. As a consequence of the allegations, however, both the House and Senate for the first time provided supervised housing for their pages; established separate page schools and took over the education of the pages, which had been provided under contract by the District of Columbia school system; 4 and developed more educational and recreational opportunities for their pages.
In the th Congress , at the request of then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Republican Leader John Boehner, the House inspector general IG conducted an inquiry into the supervision and operation of the House Page Residence Hall, and subsequently issued a confidential report recommending changes. In , an independent study, conducted by consultants to the House, was conducted.
In response to the findings of those efforts, the House implemented new policies to enhance the safety and supervision of the pages and oversight of the page program.
These changes followed investigations of allegations related to the page program participants, including the exchange of inappropriate communications between a Member of the House and former pages, 5 and of misbehavior by a few pages in the th and th Congresses.
A follow up review of the page program was carried out in the summer of by the same independent consultants. According to House leaders, concerns raised in , including costs and the need for the program, remained. In a Dear Colleague Letter, the leaders cited both changes in technology obviating the need for most page services, and the program's costs as reasons to discontinue the program.
In the th Congress, , H. The resolution would have created an advisory panel to make recommendations for the operation of a reestablished page program. The House page program would have been reestablished in the first school semester after the advisory panel submitted its recommendations to the Committee on House Administration. Membership of the nine-person advisory body would have been composed of three Members of the House from the majority party of the House, three Members of the House from the minority party, and three individuals who were not Members and who had served as House pages.
The measure was referred to the Committee on House Administration, and no further action was taken. Pages serve principally as messengers. They carry documents between the House and Senate, Members' offices, committees, and the Library of Congress.
They prepare the Senate chamber for each day's business by distributing the Congressional Record and other documents related to the day's agenda, assist in the cloakrooms and chambers; and when Congress is in session, they sit near the dais where they may be summoned by Members for assistance.
In the House, pages also previously raised and lowered the flag on the roof of the Capitol. There are 30 Senate page positions, 16 for the majority party and 14 for the minority party.
The office of the Sergeant at Arms supervises the Senate page program. The Senate page program consists of four quarters, two academic year sessions and two shorter summer sessions.
It is administered by the Senate Sergeant at Arms, the Senate page program director, and the principal of the Senate page school. Senate pages are paid a stipend, and deductions are taken for taxes and residence hall fee, which includes a meal plan. The uniforms consist of navy blue suits, white shirts, red and blue striped tie, dark socks, and black shoes. Pages who serve during the academic year are educated in this school, which is also accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.
The junior-year curriculum is geared toward college preparation and emphasis is given to the unique learning opportunities available in Washington, DC. Early morning classes are held prior to the convening of the Senate.
The board, established in statute, is composed of two Members from each party, including the chair, as well as the Clerk and the Sergeant at Arms of the House, a former House page, and the parent of a House page.
Participants in the House page program typically served for one academic semester during the school year, or during a summer session.
House pages received a stipend for their services, and deductions were taken from their salaries for federal and state taxes, Social Security, and a residence hall fee, which included a meal plan. They were responsible for the cost of their uniforms—navy jackets, dark grey slacks or skirts, long sleeve white shirt, red and blue striped tie, and black shoes—and transportation to and from Washington, DC.
The page school, which is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, offered a junior-year high-school curriculum, college preparatory courses, and extracurricular and weekend activities.
0コメント