Will The Congressman from Ohio Yield From His Game of Angry Birds?
When the 112th United States Congress begins in January, legislators may be able to read a bill on their iPad before voting on it. If adopted, a new rule proposed by the incoming Republican majority would allow smartphones and tablets–banished from the floor of the House of Representatives during the 111th Congress–to be used once again. There is a caveat though: Their use must not “impede decorum.” In other words, playing a game of Doodle Jump or experimenting with Fart Studio for iPad during a speech by a colleague is forbidden; reading the electronic version of the bill he’s stumping for is fair game, as presumably is IMing a lobbyist friend “yea or nay?”
“The definition of what is ‘disruptive of decorum’ will likely evolve over time,” Brendan Buck , a spokesman for the Republican Majority Transition Committee, told techPresident. “But of course devices are not to make sound and members are not to be speaking on their phones while on the floor. [But] if a member wants to read an amendment, for example, on their iPad, that would be allowed.”
[Image credit: Technologizer]