Senate Keeps Ban on Laptop Computers
Laptop computers are and will remain forbidden on the floor of the Senate. Why not? Each senator’s desk is already equipped with a pencil tray, an inkwell and a shaker filled with blotting sand.
By voice vote, the Senate Rules Committee rejected Sen. Mike Enzi’s request Wednesday to bring his laptop into the Senate chamber during debates. Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) was the only dissenter.
The Senate reveres its numerous, sometimes obscure traditions. Two large spittoons sit unused on the floor near the front of the chamber, and two snuffboxes are kept filled with fresh snuff.
Senate rules also forbid the use of mechanical devices on the floor or anything that may threaten decorum. Senators must seek permission to bring calculators onto the floor during budget debates.
Sen. Wendell H. Ford (D-Ky.) told fellow committee members: “There may be a time when laptop computers are necessary, but that time is not yet here.”
Enzi (R-Wyo.) was disappointed but not surprised, spokesman Coy Knobel said. But he’s not going to give up trying to drag the Senate into the Computer Age.
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