Controversy over ‘clutter’ in the halls of Congress
According to The Hill, Congressional staffers have been mandated to remove clutter from the hallways outside their offices. Items that are considered “clutter” include signs honoring soldiers who fought overseas. The instruction to remove the objects isn’t going over well with some members of Congress. The new policy was put in place by Cheif Adminstrative Officer (CAO), Dan Beard, who is worried that the displays outside of the offices will impede people’s exit in the event of an emergency evacuation. The policy is also an attempt to bring House members into compliance with the American’s with Disabilities Act that was passed in 1990.
The controversial issue is the removal of items that honor fallen soldiers:
[Rep] Pomeroy said the CAO should make an exception for the easels honoring dead military servicemen and women.
“I feel particularly bad for those who have to take down the posters of the guys who lost their lives in Iraq,” Pomeroy said. “In my opinion, we want to honor our fallen heroes in every way. That’s the sort of thing that should continue, so if they were to have one exception, that would be it.”
The CAO so far is not budging. While sympathizing with the desire to honor military men and women, a spokesman for the office said it is still necessary to remove the posters from the hallways.
“While we recognize the meaning and significance of the easels honoring our fallen servicemen and women in Iraq and Afghanistan, we would hope that members also recognize the very real need to keep our hallways safe for disabled persons,” said Jeff Ventura, spokesman for the CAO. He suggested that members move the displays into their offices.
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Posted by Matt on May 20, 2008 |
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16 comments posted
Posted by Dee - 05/20/2008
I don’t know – my take on this may be controversial as well. I would imagine that Congress operates much like a Corporation and like a Corporation is asking their employees to abide by certain standards and regulations. I don’t know about everyone else, but at my place of business anytime theres a guideline put in place by the higher ups theres always this kind of turmoil because its viewed as “just one more way to make our lives miserable.”
I don’t think its unreasonable to ask people to take down “clutter” especially if its been stipulated that they can move said clutter into their office. While I can’t imagine how a poster on a wall can be obstructing safety guidelines (other than perhaps making it difficult to clearly find exit signs) I also think that some regulations by employers are a given in any work place – its just a fact of life as is the griping that goes along with it. Everyone is a free agent
!
Maybe a public space designated for posters and honors would have been a way to appease members and still remove the clutter but seems that wasn’t an option they wanted?
Posted by Gumnos - 05/20/2008
@Dee
The items were described as being on easels in the hallway, not hanging on the walls. Egress to the building could be impaired as such. Thus, a simple solution might be to do just as you describe and hang them on the walls
-gumnos
Posted by Russ - 05/20/2008
While I can agree with the sentiment of honoring fallen soldiers, I must agree with keeping the hallways free from clutter. Posters on easels in a hallway could have dangerous consequences, even without an emergency.
The argument is that the only exception would be these particular posters. However, experience has taught me that if you allow one exception, the rest are not far away. If the CAO bends and allows the exception of an easel, the next request would be to allow the floor-mounted flags to remain. Then, something else until the rule ceases to exist. I get the impression that this is the intention.
The article states that one congressman has 27 easels outside of his office. Unless the hallways of the congressional office is rather large, I can see 27 easels having the potential to cause some problems.
Posted by Hayden Tompkins - 05/20/2008
Wow and these guys are running our government??
Yes geniuses, HANG THEM on the walls.
Posted by Dee - 05/20/2008
OH – the poster are on easels – lol!?!? Sorry for missing that important factor. Well in that case – I guess my original comment wasn’t so far off track – hang them on the walls dummies, thats a no brainer and stop wasting tax dollars with the purchase of easels. . tapes a lot cheaper!!!
Posted by Xerxes3rd - 05/20/2008
While I can appreciate having things to honor fallen soldiers, I imagine that having said items impede egress in the event of an emergency would not be the way that a fallen soldier would choose to be honored.
Posted by ARP - 05/20/2008
Warning- snarky political comment. I have not seen the hall, but I imagine its a case of politicians trying to “out-honor” the troops for all to see,for political points rather than doing something real like giving them raises, improving their healthcare, etc.
That being said, put the stuff on the wall, put it in your office in a case, or designate a public area and put it there. Of course the last two suggestions wouldn’t let them wear it on their sleeve. Sorry, could not resist.
Posted by Anne - 05/20/2008
I agree with ARP, the out-honor each other.
I am a big supporter of our troops and honoring those who gave their lives BUT…………….
don’t we have memorials for that?
I am trying not to be hard hearted, but don’t these guys have HUGE offices and HUGE paychecks?? Perhaps they could have a memorial in the main area that they place the pictures?
It they want to out honor the other lowly congressperson with less soldiers dying for thier countries….support the ones that are alive!
Posted by H... - 05/20/2008
I believe it is also a housekeeping issue. It is quite awkward cleaning floor among easels.
Posted by Marie - 05/20/2008
How is this an issue? It’s a fire hazard. It doesn’t matter if it’s a painting of Mother Theresa or a photocopy of someone’s backside, it’s still endangering lives. Would a staffer’s family be okay with him burning to death because he tripped over something “honorable” in the rush to get out?
Posted by Yinna - 05/20/2008
I’m wondering if they have 4,561 of those posters in the building, or have they decided one soldier’s ultimate sacrifice is better than another’s?
Posted by Sara - 05/20/2008
@ Anne
Just a little thing, but no, they don’t actually have huge offices. They’re all crammed into a really moderate amount of space. Not really what you’d expect, honestly. I was surprised.
Posted by gm - 05/20/2008
completely off topic
why are you vacuming your mouth in that picture.
just curious
love your blog
Posted by JC - 05/21/2008
Or you could read this as another way the current administration wants to hide the costs of war to the public which still has access to the halls of Congress.
After all this is the same administration that has prevented media coverage of returning casualties (in caskets), prevented the media from getting close to funerals in Arlington (even when the family had no objections), whose leader (Bush) has not attended a military funeral but has…given up golf to recognize the sacrifices of US soldiers.
Posted by Deb - 06/28/2008
I visited my congressman a couple of years ago and remember the halls being very plain and featureless. It was hard enough then to find the elevator banks/exit stairs through the maze of halls.
On one hand, I tend to navigate by landmarks. On the other hand, my classroom has a 2 foot buffer around the door where I am not allowed to hang posters due to the exact same logic about emergency exits. Safety always trumps decor.
Posted by J - 07/23/2008
I’ve worked in a Congressional office, and I can assure you that they’re not very large. Also, the hallways are cluttered sometimes, and it doesn’t look very nice.
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