1. Little to no transportation per Representative/Senator. 2. Hold town hall meetings every Monday throughout own state. 3. The building could be given to Smithsonian &/or used once a year for the State of the Union Message 4. Use of electronic communication for voting, committee meetings, etc. open to Sunshine Laws 5. No need for Senator & Representative duplication of housing, offices, staff 6. More environmental 'friendly' reducing: paper waste, reduction electricity, 7. One-Third of Federal Government less vulerable to terrorist attack 8. Current Senator/Representative Office space could be donated for low income housing, Malls, etc.
Political Benefits: 1. Reduce lobbyists control over government 2. Representatives/Senators more responsive to constituents 3. Increase accountability & Reduce moral temptation for Representatives/Senators Consideration of Rep. Steve Pearce (R-N.M.) "virtual Congress" creation: SAVE BUDGET: SEND SENATORS & REPRESENTATIVES ALL HOME!!!!
Reduce cost D.C.Federal Government while reducing Carbon footprint
BUMP!
PING
Might make sense if accompanied by a LARGE reduction in lame-duck sessions.
This makes sense to me!
There’s little or no need for them to be in Washington, except perhaps for votes. They could remotely vote too, but to make SURE it’s the legislator that is in fact the one voting, it might be a good idea for them to physically be there in person.
If that is possible, THEN LET THE PEOPLE VOTE on every issue.
The useless EXEMPT Congress can just go to Mexico or Libya
with Obama and McCain.
Great idea but can u imagine John McCain trying to figure it out.
“ Uh John, its a computer, yelling at it doesn’t get u coffee any faster”
The Capitol should have been in KS anyway, centrally located. It was a mistake to leave it in the swamps of the Potomac.
At first blush makes total sense to me. We have all this technology ... use it. Enough with the archaic.
If that were to happen, watch the home values in the Washington DC area come down drastically. Watch Washington DC become a complete slum city.
With Congress telecommuting, even the president’s residence could be moved to whatever is the hometown for the president.
Biggest change would be with the lobbyists, who would have to commute to each congress member’s office in order to get “business” done (and no, telecommuting wouldn’t work for lobbyists and the congress members, because, video and audio sessions would be recorded, and they don’t want shady deals recorded).
The Founding Fathers would be dancing on the clouds of Heaven over this idea!
Great idea. Lobbying would have to take place by phone —a risky thing.
”… to conduct their daily [emphasis added] duties in Washington from their home districts."
While I say “why not?” concerning Rep. Pierce’s proposal to run the federal government by telecommunication, I question the following about Rep. Pierce. Is he wise to the federal government’s constitutionally limited powers which he has heard his fellow lawmakers read out loud twice since he has been a federal rep.?
After all, military issues aside, since one of the very few powers that the states have delegated to the feds, expressly via the Constitution, to regulate an aspect of intrastate commerce which affects many citizens on an almost daily basis is to decide policy for the US Mail Service, I don’t understand why Congress needs to discuss the mail service on an almost daily basis.
It would be much better to do this. Congressmen would be much more concerned with their own districts if they actually stayed there. But it will never happen, for the precise reason that it is a good idea. Congressmen want to be in DC, they don’t want to be amongst the peasants. They want to be fawned over by lobbyists, feel like they made it to the big leagues. No way they would go for it, and no way the lobbyists would go for it.
My money is on them not wanting to be there in DC when the SHtF.
What happened in Canada has pushed their thinking into a shortened time frame.
HF
This is actually a great idea.
Great idea however - they would have to get their haircuts and work outs locally - I’ll bet most of them wouldnt ever know where that was in their district.
My plan is to sell off Washington DC to the highest bidder as a theme park.
Move the Capital to about 70 miles north of I-70 in Missouri. Dormitories and cafeterias. 90 days in the spring and 90 days in the fall unless there is an emergency.
Then, the elected elites, can spend the bulk of their lives back with the dooshes that elected them in the first place.
Oh, and no elegant cocktail parties or dinners.
This reminds me of my plan to reduce pollution and congestion. All government workers whose jobs allow them to telecommute should do so. Once the practice is established, all those jobs can be outsourced to the Philippines.
In addition to the Capitol Building:
The office buildings house the individual offices of each U.S. Representative and Senator as well as committee hearing rooms, staff rooms, multiple cafeterias, and areas for support, committee, and maintenance staff. The congressional office buildings are connected to the Capitol by means of several underground trains–the Capitol Subway System. Congressional pages are responsible for carrying packages and messages from the two chambers to the buildings.
The three Senate office buildings are along Constitution Avenue north of the Capitol:
Russell Senate Office Building (RSOB, completed 1908)
Dirksen Senate Office Building (DSOB, completed 1958)
Hart Senate Office Building (HSOB, completed 1982)
The three House office buildings are along Independence Avenue south of the Capitol:
Cannon House Office Building (CHOB, completed 1908)
Longworth House Office Building (LHOB, completed 1933)
Rayburn House Office Building (RHOB, completed 1965)
A fourth building, the Ford House Office Building, which used to house the FBI’s fingerprint records, sits a few blocks southwest of the others.
The U.S. Capitol Complex also includes a Page Residence Hall both on the House side of the Capitol.