Former Congressional Page Calls for Program Reform

Oct. 4, 2006 — -- With the spotlight on the Foley scandal, former pages now are calling for reform to the historical congressional page program that has been around Capitol Hill since 1827.

It would not be the first time changes were made in light of allegations of inappropriate behavior by members of Congress toward pages.

Congress first began using youths, just males at the time, in the early 1800s to serve as messengers.

Sponsored by a member of Congress or the Senate, they literally ran messages back and forth between members, to committees, and would prepare the House and Senate chambers for the day's session.

The first female page joined the ranks in the 1970s. It seems in this day and age of BlackBerries, and instant messaging, the page's job as a human messenger is still valued.

"The symbolism is immense," said Jonathan Turley, a George Washington University law professor. "Pages are one of the most sacred images on the hill. They represent the idealism that led many members into public service."

Turley says some things have changed about the page program since he served in 1977, but believes those changes don't go far enough to protect young pages.

"The problem is Congress is representative of the country in many ways," Turley said. "Just as the country has pedophiles, so does Congress. The greatest danger to pages historically have come from members themselves."

In 1982, the House Ethics Committee announced that two members of Congress had carried on sexual relationships with teenage pages -- Illinois Republican Dan Crane with a 17-year-old female, and Democratic Massachusetts Congressman Gerry Studds with a 17-year-old male.

Both admitted their behavior.

They were reprimanded and censured by the House for sexual misconduct. Crane was voted out in 1984, while voters in Studds' district re-elected him five more times.

As a result of those 1980s' scandals, more supervision was recommended for pages, including the creation of a dormitory for them.

They had no communal housing in the past.