G.O.P. to Open House to Electronic Devices

 

Representative Kevin McCarthy held an iPad 

at the Newseum in Washington.

WASHINGTON — The iPad is coming to Capitol Hill.

Tucked into new rules proposed by the incoming House Republican majority is one that could fling the chamber — for good or ill — into the 21st century: Members may use an electronic device on the House floor as long as it doesn’t “impair decorum.”

The new rule would relax the complete ban on the use of gadgets like the iPad, iPhone or BlackBerry on the floor. Mobile phones, tablet computers and the whole universe of applications that run on them will be officially available to House members as they conduct business.

Members still may not talk on the phone in the chamber and are supposed to use the devices for official business only, according to a spokesman for the soon-to-be speaker, John A. Boehner, Republican of Ohio. But as long as the mute switch is on, lawmakers will be free to tap away. 

 Senator Harry Reid checked his BlackBerry 

earlier this year at a news conference at the Capitol

“Mr. Boehner has deep respect for the institution and its traditions,” said Brendan Buck, a spokesman for the Republicans. “This is not free license to Skype or pay bills online. But we recognize that people consume information electronically these days. It’s just silly that the House wouldn’t accommodate that.”

The decision represents a vivid concession of old-fashioned tradition to new technology. But while the nation’s lawmakers will be fully plugged in, they will also be in danger of tuning one another out.

As the Emily Post etiquette Web site states: “Tapping on a hand-held device is O.K. if it’s related to what’s being discussed, but taking care of personal business is unprofessional. Your associates might think that you were more interested in your gadget than the business at hand.”

Mobile technology has already started to sneak onto the floors of both the House and the Senate. While the rules of the 111th Congress officially banned iPads and other devices from the floor, there has been a “wink and a nod” approach to a lawmaker who takes furtive glances at his BlackBerry, according to a senior Republican aide.

That was obvious last week, when Senator John Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts, was seen, head down, tapping out messages as he sat directly behind Senator Arlen Specter, Democrat of Pennsylvania, who was giving his farewell address. Earlier this month, Representative Henry Cuellar, Democrat of Texas, took his iPad to the speaker’s rostrum as he presided over the chamber. And Representative Eric Cantor, Republican of Virginia, was caught using his BlackBerry during President Obama’s health care address in 2009.

In the Senate, a leadership aide said that no changes were planned, but that the rules committee could look into loosening the rules at some point. But in the House, members will be free to whip out their mobile phones any time.

That prospect worries Jaron Lanier, the author of “You Are Not A Gadget: A Manifesto.”

“This notion of the deliberative body being insulated and being a little bit removed was there for a reason,” Mr. Lanier said Friday in an interview. “Real-time Tweets? Do we want that?”

Apparently, we do. Mobile devices are everywhere these days. The one on Mr. Obama’s hip can often be seen in photographs snapped as he emerges from Air Force One. Even Laura Bush, the former first lady and a lover of paper-bound books, admitted recently that she was hooked.

“I had not used a computer in the eight years I spent in the White House, and I didn’t know a thing about BlackBerrys,” Mrs. Bush told Advertising Specialty Institute Radio. “And now, like everyone in the U.S., I have one in my hand every moment. I’m addicted to it.”

The new rules in the House, first reported by Nancy Scola of techPresident.com, will be clarified early next month in a document called the Speaker’s Announced Policies. For example, Mr. Buck, the Republican spokesman, said the use of the ubiquitous white iPod earphones would probably not be allowed.

The intent, he said, was to let lawmakers look up the text of a bill, check a fact or keep up on the news of the day. Their advisers could also send them important messages. And, especially with the iPad’s bigger screen, lawmakers could abandon paper copies of bills in favor of electronic versions. Or they could use Google on their smartphone to check the accuracy of something a colleague had just said.

On the other hand, less-high-minded members could use the devices to play games, do their Amazon shopping or find movie listings. In Florida, where laptop computers are already allowed to sit on the desks of state senators, one member was caught with pictures of naked women on his screen.

Still, Mr. Lanier envisioned a bright side, even if lawmakers are not using the devices strictly for work. Recalling the many scenes of lawmakers’ speaking to a mostly empty chamber, he said, “At least if they have a little game to play, maybe they will attend more.”

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