People Ban: Halls of Congress Page 2

Lawmakers, staff pan smoke-free Congress

By: Anne Schroeder Mullins
Jan 15, 2008

A new rule banning the sale of tobacco products on House of Representatives grounds has got Capitol Hill smokers we hate to say it smoking mad.

The health nannies arbitrary ban on a legal and heavily taxed product bodes ill for the future marketing of Mountain Dew and Moon Pies, said Rep. Thaddeus G. McCotter, an infuriated Republican, and smoker, from Michigan.

This is silly feel good crap by a bunch of do-gooders, barked a high-level Democratic staffer (also a smoker). We should be worried about the housing crisis, the unemployment rate and the national debt instead of making staffers walk four blocks to buy a pack of smokes.
We should have seen this coming.

The transition to a smoke-free Congress can be traced to November 2006, when voters stoked by a growing dissatisfaction with the war in Iraq and the state of the nation as a whole ousted the Republican majority in both houses.

The congressional elections replaced the likes of then-Majority Leader John A. Boehner of Ohio who lit up his beloved Barclays several times an hour, it seemed with the more health-conscious Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who quickly banned smoking in the Speaker’s lobby. (Her predecessors had already banned smoking in all public areas of the Capitol.)

Saddened but undeterred, Minority Leader Boehner demonstrated his opposition to the Democratic agenda by lighting up in his office even after the ban went into effect. Of course, his was a symbolic protest, since the rules don’t prohibit members from smoking in their private offices. (Rumor has it that when Boehner vacated his office for incoming Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, the room had to be specially fumigated.)

Last November, Senate leaders went a step further by banning the sale of tobacco products on their side of Capitol Hill beginning the first of the year.

For a time, dedicated Hill smokers could still find tobacco products on the House side specifically, in the Longworth House Office Building convenience store. But the House ban, which quietly went into effect last week, will eliminate the sale of all tobacco products on any portion of Capitol Hill grounds.
So how did this happen?

Well, House officials recently contracted with a new vending company to operate the Hills convenience store and food service operations. The New York-based Restaurant Associates Managed Services was selected in part because of its healthier food and lifestyle options note the biodegradable utensils and cigarettes didnt exactly fit in.

As a result, House Chief Administrative Officer Dan Beard, who was appointed by Pelosi and approved by Congress, took the opportunity to ban the sale of tobacco-based products on House grounds altogether.

As the Senate did, the chief administrative officer made the decision to no longer sell cigarettes in the House of Representatives, said Jeff Ventura, the CAO spokesman. In public spaces, the House is a nonsmoking facility, so the selling of tobacco products wasnt in line with our smoke-free workplace policies.

Beards decision enraged House-side smokers, and it made him the target of scorn from both sides of the aisle.

I was outraged, said Richard Hudson, chief of staff to Rep. John R. Carter (R-Texas). Its a legal product.

Hudson, a tobacco chewer, would buy his tasty Copenhagen at the Longworth convenience store roughly three times a week. Now he has to walk more than eight blocks to buy his product, which, ironically, makes his habit a bit more healthy.

It wont make me quit, Hudson sniped. Ill just spend my money someplace else.

To some, the new ban carries a whiff of hypocrisy. If we are really worried about peoples health, why are we still selling triple espressos, double bacon cheeseburgers and ice cream? asked Hayden Rogers, chief of staff for Rep. Heath Shuler, a Democrat who hails from the tobacco state of North Carolina. We all make serious decisions every day with real consequences, yet adults on the Hill are not allowed to decide for themselves whether or not to buy tobacco.

And Boehner? Apparently Dan Beard didnt get the memo that the speaker is counting on more tobacco sales to ensure [the State Childrens Health Insurance Program] covers more adults and more illegal immigrants, said Boehner spokesman Kevin Smith, tossing a little policy into the debate. Beards move is decidedly off-message for a Congress that purports to be for the children.

Still, for tobacco users, not all is lost yet. There is still one place left on Hill grounds where smokers and chewers can get their fix. (No, its not just in Boehners office.) The Ford House Office Building will continue to sell products until September, when the contract expires.

This is another thing to screw with staffers, one anonymous aide grumbled about the tobacco ban. Whats next?

Hudson has the answer. I think Fox News and chewing gum is the next thing to go, he mused.

Clarification: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) banned smoking in the Speakers lobby, but previous speakers already had banned smoking in public places throughout the Capitol. The rules don’t prohibit members from smoking in their private offices.

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Puffing away in the Pelosi era

1/24/07
By Kelly McCormack
The night freshman Rep. Phil Hare (D-Ill.) finally decided to stop smoking, he was wearing the patch, chewing Nicorette gum and puffing on the remaining four cigarettes in his last pack.

That was 18 years ago, but Hare’s memory of his quitting ordeal is vivid: He said he “was a complete bear, they tell me, for three months.” Now, the non-smoker couldn’t be more thrilled with the recent tobacco ban in the Speaker’s Lobby.

“I think it’s great,” Hare said. “Smoking kills people. It’s addictive stuff. I’m just thankful I could get off and stay off.”

Since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) prohibited smoking in the Speaker’s Lobby, an ornate vestibule located just off the House floor, lawmakers with smoking habits have been forced to make some changes.

A few have been griping, but no one has come out publicly against the new rules. Could there be some sort of pact not to challenge the Speaker on health-related measures? Or are there enough areas where smokers can find relief?

Some are secretly protesting by smoking in non-smoking areas. At least one unsanctioned smoking area exists in the Capitol, a Capitol employee told The Hill.

The employee would not divulge the room’s location, not wanting the hideout to be discovered.

The employee resolved to smoke less in the new year. But the new smoking ban? She says it’s made her want to smoke more.

“We are grown-ups,” the employee said. “We are not children.”

Other employees, and at least one lawmaker, have found the secret spot to smoke in the Capitol. But many smokers are unaware of the clandestine location.

“I don’t know of any [places to smoke] but if you hear of any, let me know,” joked one GOP lawmaker, who says he lights up in his office — with an exhaust fan running — and on the porch off the Speaker’s Lobby. Smoking is allowed in members’ personal offices.

Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-Mich.) also doubts that a clandestine smoking area exists.

“I’m sure if there is a Batcave somewhere we would know about it,” McCotter grumbled as he walked through the Speaker’s Lobby. Though he’s displeased by the new anti-smoking edict, he abides by it and smokes either inside his private office or on the porch near the Speaker’s Lobby known as “the beach.”

When Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) was 4 years old he smoked a cigarette butt left in the ashtray of his grandmother’s car. It made him so sick that it deterred him from lighting up ever again, he says.

Cleaver said that he has heard lawmakers complain, but he hasn’t caught wind of the rebels’ den. “I’ve heard people grumbling about [the smoking ban] but I haven’t heard about a secret smokestack,” he said.

If Pelosi gets word of any such space’s existence, though, Cleaver is sure that she will shut it down promptly.?

The ban has made gathering stories more difficult for reporters. At one time, lawmakers would congregate with cigarettes or cigars in hand in a corner of the lobby, which made them accessible. The gathered crowd was mostly partisan and often included House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) as well as Reps. Tom Latham (R-Iowa), McCotter, Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) and Collin Peterson (D-Minn.).

Now some members make a beeline to the porch off the Speaker’s Lobby, making it more difficult for journalists to snag them. Such was the case for Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) on Thursday and Friday.

Boehner was known for puffing on Barclay cigarettes on a particular bench in the Speaker’s Lobby. He has said that the ban will not affect his smoking habits, and he has been seen smoking on the porch.

Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), an avid cigar smoker who occasionally could be spotted puffing away in the Speaker’s Lobby, told his spokesman Steve Adamske to tell members of the press to “call back when you have something more serious [than the smoking ban] to discuss.”

We’re still wondering where he lights up.

In late June, the House Office Building Commission amended the House’s policy, prohibiting smoking in all areas except the glass-enclosed rooms of B-219 Longworth and B-112 Cannon. Smoking within 25 feet of public entrances and exits of the Capitol complex or the surrounding office buildings also is prohibited.

Aides on the Senate side are allowed to smoke in a special enclosed smoking room in Hart and a room in Dirksen. It’s up to senators to decide whether they condone smoking in their offices. The only known smoking senator is Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.). Former Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) smoked cigars. Aides tend to buy their cigarettes in the Refectory, a little store on the first floor of the Senate side of the Capitol where smokes are rumored to be pretty cheap.

The National Democratic Club (NDC) has been allowing patrons to light up indoors, regardless of the District of Columbia’s smoking ban, which went into effect Jan. 2. The club says that they fall under an exemption, but the D.C. Department of Health (DoH) has visited the club repeatedly, telling them to abide by the law, a DoH spokeswoman said.

Simpson, a habitual smoker, joked that he does not plan to complain about the NDC’s violation of the smoking ban.

“I don’t want to make a big to-do about [the NDC] because I want to get [smoking in the Capitol Hill Club] reopened,” Simpson laughed.

But the smoking ban in the Capitol isn’t bothering him.

“It’s not a big deal with me,” said Simpson, who admitted that cutting off smoking in the Speaker’s Lobby has moderated his smoking habit.

“I go downstairs outside,” he says. “I’ll tell you what though, [the ban] cuts down your smoking substantially.”

Under D.C. law, smoking in an unsanctioned area could result in a fine between $100 and $1,000 for both the smoker and the bar or restaurant owner.

As of last week, Simpson was unaware of the fines for lighting up in restricted areas.

“How much is it? $1,000? I’ll smoke for $1,000,” Simpson said, chuckling. “Not really.”

Freshman Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.) isn’t bothered by the smoking ban in the Capitol. She says she understands how it affects others. “I’m a smoker [but] I’m always conscious of other people.”

Clarke says the ban won’t make her stop smoking. “I actually enjoy smoking,” she says. “Tell it like it is. My parents hate it. My father is like, ‘Yvette, I smell it.’ Okay, Pop,” she laughs.

Clarke says she won’t smoke in front of her parents. “It’s not a hiding thing, it’s a respect thing,” she says. “I’m a rebel with a cause.”

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Smoking Ban Extended to Congress
January 10, 2007
With the District’s smoking ban now in force throughout the city’s bars and restaurants, pretty much the only option for smokers set on enjoying a quick cigarette without heading outside was getting elected to Congress. Today, that changed.
Read

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Washington, DC

January 11, 2007
Emily Heil

Looks like members of Congress will just have to huddle out of doors, with their cold, shivery fingers gripping their cigarettes, just like the rest of us. Or at least the Republican ones will.

Although House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Wednesday banned smoking in the once notoriously nicotine-friendly Speaker’s Lobby, Democrats can still retire to the comforts of the Democratic National Club for a smoke. The venue, located just blocks from the Capitol, offers a bar, dining room, and private dining and meeting spaces. And the private club still permits smoking in certain areas, even though there’s a distinctly anti-smoker vibe in the air, what with D.C. instituting a smoking ban at the beginning of the year and cigarettes being snuffed out in the Speaker’s Lobby.

But the Dem club’s Republican counterpart, the Capitol Hill Club, is taking the no-butts climate to (a presumably healthier) heart. The club has banned smoking in the facility beginning Jan. 2, a club employee tells us.

Smoking Ban Extended to Congress

January 10, 2007

With the District’s smoking ban now in force throughout the city’s bars and restaurants, pretty much the only option for smokers set on enjoying a quick cigarette without heading outside was getting elected to Congress. Today, that changed.

The Hill reports that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi officially banned smoking in the Speaker’s Lobby, an ornate room beside the House chamber that for decades has been the refuge of smokers in Congress. The Post described the lobby thusly:

The lobby, where lawmakers relax between votes and debates, is blue with smoke most days. You can smell it from the approaching hallways. Cigarette smokers claim the leather wing chairs during the day, filling the ashtrays with butts. At night, the cigar smokers take over. A smoky film clings to an oversize mirror.

According to a number of articles, Pelosi was encouraged to take the step by Rep. Henry Waxman, a California Democrat known for prying into the misdeeds of his Republican colleagues. In making the decision, Pelosi stated:

The days of smoke-filled rooms in the United States Capitol are over. Medical science has unquestionably established the dangerous effects of secondhand smoke, including an increased risk of cancer and respiratory diseases. I am a firm believer that Congress should lead by example.

First to be affected may be House Minority Leader John Boehner, who often rushed to the lobby between votes to smoke. Representatives will still be allowed to smoke in their offices, though.

Now that Congress has caught up with the rest of the country on smoking in public buildings, will they ever start charging the District’s $1 tax per pack in Senate stores? It might be a little much to ask, but here’s to hoping.

Pelosi kicks butts near House floor: No smoking

January 10, 2007

WASHINGTON (AP) — New House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is snuffing out one of Congress’ enduring prerogatives, still cherished by some lawmakers — the right to smoke near the floor of the House.

Pelosi, D-California, announced Wednesday that effective immediately, House members would no longer be able to light up in the ornate Speaker’s Lobby off the House floor where lawmakers mingle during votes.

The room is often hazy with smoke, as it was Tuesday night as the House voted on anti-terror legislation; Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, often has a cigarette in hand, for example.

“The days of smoke-filled rooms in the United States Capitol are over,” Pelosi said. “Medical science has unquestionably established the dangerous effects of secondhand smoke, including an increased risk of cancer and respiratory diseases. I am a firm believer that Congress should lead by example.”

Smoke-filled rooms won’t be gone entirely — lawmakers will still be allowed to smoke in their own offices.

Smoking is banned in most federal buildings, and the District of Columbia recently banned smoking in public areas, as has Pelosi’s home district of San Francisco and a number of other cities.