The Washington Times
  • Subscribe
  • Times News Services
  • RSS
  • Mobile Headlines
  • e-edition
  • E-MAIL ALERTS
  • REGISTER
  • LOG IN
  • E-MAIL ALERTS
  • WELCOME
  • Your Profile
  • Log Out
  • Front Page Image
  • Classifieds
  • Autos
  • Real Estate
  • Jobs
  • Special Sections
  • Customer Service
  • Home
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Sports
    • NFL
    • NBA/WNBA
    • MLB
    • NHL
    • Tennis
    • Golf
    • Motorsports
    • Soccer
    • NCAA
    • Olympics
    • Outdoors
    • Other
  • Culture
    • Home & Living
    • Family & Kids
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Travel
    • Health
    • Washington Visitors
    • Books
    • Military History
    • Life
    • Auto
    • TV Listings
    • Movie Listings
    • Death Notices
    • Entertainment
  • Themes
  • Communities
  • Marketplace
    • Autos
    • Jobs
    • Real Estate
    • Classifieds
    • Shopping
    • Dining Out
    • Education
    • TWT Store
  • Videos
    • Two Guys
    • Birnbaum on Washington
    • Liz Glover
    • Amanda Carpenter
    • Morning Briefing
    • Documentaries
    • Joe Giganti
    • Video Game Minute
  • Podcasts
    • About Headlines
    • Audio and Radio
    • America's Morning News
  • NFL

    Same old problems plague Redskins

  • Politics

    Obama: It's Senate's turn on health care

  • Security

    Army chief wary of backlash against Muslim soldiers

  • Sports

    Offense erupts in Caps' victory

  • National

    KUHNHENN: 10% jobless rate is Obama's troubling world

  • World

    Joint forces probe NATO air strike

  • National

    Fla. shooting suspect 'mentally ill'

Monday, July 24, 2006

House's own smoke-filled room

Rate this story

Average 0.00
after 0 votes
Login or register to rate this story

  • Font Size -+
  • Print
  • Email
  • Comment
  • Tweet this!
  • Share
  • Article
  • Comments ()
  • Click-2-Listen
  • Videos

More Stories

  • Suicide bomber kills 12 in Pakistan market
  • Abortion takes driver's seat in debate
  • School lunch risk eyed after E. coli outbreak
  • Same old problems plague Redskins

By

It's 4:30 on a Thursday afternoon, and the House of Representatives is hard at work making laws.

During a series of votes, members stroll in and out of the chamber to relax in the Speaker's Lobby -- an exclusive spot where they can put up their feet, crack jokes, read newspapers, make phone calls and, yes, smoke cigarettes, cigars and pipes.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a Democrat from California -- where smoking bans have long been in place -- recently glared across the lobby at a colleague who was cloaked in a plume of cigar smoke.

"There's a story for you," she told a reporter for The Washington Times. "That's not allowed in here anymore."

Actually, it is perfectly legal for members to light up in the Speaker's Lobby, an unventilated room adjoining the House chamber on the second floor of the Capitol.

The room's rules are set by House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, an Illinois Republican who does not smoke.

"Members are required to be here for long hours and oftentimes need to be near the floor for votes and other legislative business," said Hastert spokeswoman Lisa C. Miller. "To provide them a small designated area for smoking gives them the opportunity to be close by."

Leaving the vast building for a puff outside the Capitol could take members 10 minutes, sometimes more than they can spare.

"As long as people have smoked, there's been smoking in the Capitol," said former House historian Ray Smock, noting that vendors once sold tobacco inside the building.

Some members are confused that a new citywide ban on smoking inside the workplace does not apply to some halls or rooms inside the more than 200-year-old Capitol, one of the few places where the term "members only" is still relevant and where smoke-filled backrooms are no myth.

12Next »

Post a comment

There are comments on this article, submit your opinion!

Commenting is disabled for this entry.
If you feel there is still something worth mentioning about this entry please contact the author or the site admin.

Ask a Question

You Report

Do you have another point of view, photos, audio, video or more information about a story?

Top Stories

Most Read

  1. EXCLUSIVE: Rare virus poses new threat to troops
  2. Parents buying homes for kids at college
  3. EDITORIAL: Too scared to recognize terrorism
  4. House OKs health reform bill
  5. Inside the Beltway
More Top Stories »
  1. Sniper's ex-wife speaks out on abuse
  2. Annandale man killed in hit-and-run
  3. Aborted fetus cells used in beauty creams
  4. Sunshine vitamin stirs new debate
  5. PRUDEN: Corpse sits up, gets nice salute

Most Shared

  1. Parents buying homes for kids at college
  2. EXCLUSIVE: Rare virus poses new threat to troops
  3. EDITORIAL: Too scared to recognize terrorism
  4. Sunshine vitamin stirs new debate
  5. Obama's unlearned lesson
More Top Stories »
  1. NSA surveillance -- of you?
  2. Aborted fetus cells used in beauty creams
  3. PRUDEN: Corpse sits up, gets nice salute
  4. EDITORIAL: The negative Obama factor
  5. Looking to 2010, GOP focuses on fiscal restraint

Most Commented

  1. House OKs health reform bill
  2. EDITORIAL: Too scared to recognize terrorism
  3. Furious scramble for health reform support
  4. Muslims stunned by Fort Hood shooting
  5. 'Gentle' Army psychiatrist displayed worrisome signs
More Top Stories »
  1. Obama praises those who ended Fort Hood violence
  2. Army chief wary of backlash against Muslim soldiers
  3. Making fun of faith
  4. Israelis unsure of U.S. support
  5. Obama: It's Senate's turn on health care

Listen to Washington Times Radio

  • America's Morning News

    with John McCaslin and Melanie Morgan

Blogs & Columns

  • POTUS Notes

    New Dem talking point on Obama approval doesn't wash

  • The Back Story

    12 arrested at Pelosi's office

  • Belief Blog

    Washington goes Greek this week

  • Out of Context

    Foods that might kill libido

  • Technology

    Facebook wins round against phishing spammer

  • On the Fly

    United lifts some 'award' blocking

  • Redskins 360

    Samuels feeling better, hopeful

  • Tara's Two Cents

    On their way to summer vacation..

  • SNOBlog

    Beyond 'Woody'

Videos

Advertising Links
TWT Store
  • e-edition
  • Print Edition
  • Weekly Washington Times
TWT Affiliates
  • Middle East Times
  • Golf
  • UPI
  • Arbor Ballroom
  • Washington Times Global
  • About TWT
  • Press Room
  • F.A.Q.
  • Work for TWT
  • Advertise
  • Sponsors
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Site Map

All site contents © Copyright 2009 The Washington Times, LLC.