House approves page program reforms (AP)

House approves page program reforms

By LARRY MARGASAK, Associated Press Writer

23 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - The House voted Friday to overhaul the board that supervises
its congressional page program, seeking to close the book on a sordid e-mail
and sex scandal that sullied its reputation and became a Campaign 2006 issue.

Specifically, lawmakers voted 416-0 to provide that both parties have equal
say in overseeing the program, as old as the institution itself.

The purpose of the resolution the members approved Friday was to ensure that
teen-age pages no longer are vulnerable to the kinds of electronic-message
come-ons associated with now-resigned Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla.

The bipartisan resolution resulted from the failure of the House Page Board's
past Republican chairman, Illinois Republican John Shimkus, to notify other board
members that Foley had sent questionable e-mails to a former page.

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