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These luddites think they should be allowed to pass laws regulating cyberspace.

Senator Asks Permission to Bring Laptop to Work

By REUTERS

Filed at 6:40 p.m. ET -- June 18, 2002.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - You can still find brass spittoons on the floor of the United States Senate, but don't look for personal computers -- they're not allowed in the historic chamber.

Sen. Mike Enzi found that out when he first showed up for work in 1997. The Wyoming Republican asked permission to bring his laptop computer onto the Senate floor, where votes and debate take place, but was told to check it at the door by the Senate Rules and Administration Committee.

Citing advances in technology and the need to stay informed, Enzi has asked the committee to reconsider.

In a letter to the committee released on Tuesday, Enzi said that lightweight "notebook'' computers were now small enough that they would not damage the historic Senate furniture or interfere with its ambience, and would allow lawmakers to stay on top of the latest bills or amendments being considered.

Wireless networks could beam schedule changes and new bills to members right on the floor, the April 24 letter said, allowing senators to spend less time checking in with their offices and more time engaged in lofty debate.

Notebook computers allowed senators to stay on top of their work when they were shut out of their offices during last October's anthrax scares, Enzi said.

"If we could have then taken those notebook computers on the floor, we would have had access to all that information right at our fingertips as the Senate continued its legislative work,'' Enzi wrote.

Roughly 35 state legislatures use new computer technology in their chambers, Enzi said, saving millions of sheets of paper and freeing staffers from countless hours in front of the photocopier.

An Enzi spokesman said the chairman of the Rules and Administration Committee has agreed to reconsider the request, but has not yet scheduled a meeting.

Rules Committee staffers were not immediately available for comment.