Congressional Takeover: the iPad

Could Apple's latest technology be the answer to creating a more efficient Congress?

May 21, 2010

WASHINGTON - Here in the nation??s capital, the last man standing is not the guy you want to be. So when some members of Congress became the first to get their hands on Apple??s latest and greatest technology, they became the apple of their colleagues?? eyes (pun intended).

Politico writes that when Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) whipped out is iPad during a House Judiciary Committee meeting to "type notes, sift through documents" and scroll through Web sites "with the brush and tap of a finger ?" and never once appear to check his BlackBerry," he became an enviable member of growing group of Capitol Hill??s "iPad caucus."

Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), the "unofficial caucus chairman," told the news source that he got his hands on the iPad the first day it came to market. Reps. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Stephen Lynch (D-MA) have theirs on order, while Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), who??s district is home to Apple headquarters, will soon join the ranks of iPad users.

"[T]ech experts and lawmakers are predicting the iPad is going to revolutionize the way Congress does business ?" potentially, in a bigger way than the BlackBerry has ?" allowing members instant access to their staff, constituents and other details that make a congressional office tick, with more typing, editing and communication abilities than any smartphone," writes the news source, adding that the iPad has the potential to be "the ultimate paper saver for an institution that prints millions of pages a year and still piles huge stacks of bills" outside House and Senate chambers each day.

"This thing is the bomb," Chaffetz told the news source. "It??s light; it??s portable. It??s accessible information. I love it."

Stearns uses his iPad to check the news rather than sort through print copies. "I check dozens of news services quickly...with the tap of a finger," he told Politico.

We are really trying to engage people about ways to apply this technology," said Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA), a co-founder of the Republican New Media Caucus, which was formed a year go to keep an eye out for how the Republican Conference and use new media technology solutions. "This is definitely the wave of the future...We??re explaining to people that this could actually make us all more efficient, especially when you only have 24 hours in the day."

Ahhh, what the future holds for a more efficient Congress...thanks to the iPad!

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement