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G.O.P. House Becomes First to Allow Personal Gadgets on Floor

by Terrence O'Brien on December 27, 2010 at 03:30 PM

U.S. Capital BuildingYou'd think that the tech-savvy Dems would've thought of this -- especially after the social networking-powered election of President Obama -- but it actually took the incoming class of Republicans to propose rule changes that now allow electronic devices on the House floor. Until now, cell phones and tablets have been banned from the floors of the House and Senate, although the rules have not been very strictly enforced. The Senate will not be changing its rules, but members of the House are now free to pull out their BlackBerrys, iPhones or sundry other gadgets to send e-mails, text messages or whatever else -- just as long as they're not making voice calls. The rules will bar voice calls on the floor, and require that the devices only be used for official business. Brendan Buck, a Republican spokesman, told the New York Times, "This is not free license to Skype or pay bills online. But we recognize that people consume information electronically these days. It's just silly that the House wouldn't accommodate that." We couldn't agree more.

Tags: blackberry, congress, government, HouseOfRepresentatives, iphone, politics, top

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