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.

A minimum age restriction of 16 years old was established.

Before, the age range of pages ranged from 14 to 18.

And schools for pages were set up.

They had to attend classes five days a week beginning at 6:45 in the morning prior to the convening of the House and Senate.

Today, the chairman of the House Page Board vowed to not only fully review the Foley incident but to meet with current pages to assure them of their security and safety.

Republican Illinois Congressman John Shimkus said, "Preserving the integrity of the House Page Program is of utmost importance to me and the House of Representatives, and we intend to uphold and protect its values and traditions."

But Turley believes there's an inherent "conflict of interest" with the Congressional Page Board because it's made up primarily of members of Congress, who may be reluctant to investigate allegations of inappropriate behavior by one of their colleagues toward a page.

"These members know page scandals can be devastating not just for the member, but for a party," Turley said.

As evidence, look at the furor within the GOP ranks of who knew what and when about Foley and his sexually explicit e-mails.

Some Republican members are calling for the resignation of House Speaker Dennis Hastert.

To take away that conflict of interest, Turley has made a bold proposal to Congress to turn over the protection of pages to former pages.

He wants former pages on the Congressional Page Board along with some members of Congress.

"You'll find former pages in the top ranks of law, politics and business," Turley said.

"These people are considerable figures who will not be intimidated by Congress. … I dare say many members will be loath to mix it up with some of these former pages. They will represent a real deterrence for members of Congress."

Turley says since the scandal broke, he has received more than 100 angry e-mails and phone calls from former pages ready to step up to protect the page service.

Congress would have to change the statute governing pages in order to adopt Turley's proposal.

He dismisses some calls to abolish the page service.

"If Congress abolishes it, they're saying they can't be trusted with children," Turley said.

"The solution is not to remove the temptation from Congress, but to force it to comply with criminal laws and moral tenets."

Turley says it's not that Congress doesn't care about the welfare of pages, but that "they're too busy to focus on this aspect of Capitol Hill."