This is one change that nobody should be happy to see.
With Republican control, smoking has returned to the Cloakrooms, Capitol office spaces, the Speaker’s Lobby and other common spaces in the Capitol and office buildings, at least on the House side.
One good thing Pelosi did during her various tenures was to ban smoking, except in Member’s private offices.
Famously, after Paul Ryan took over as Speaker from John Boehner, he had to have the Speaker’s Office deep cleaned and a nebulizing machine installed to remove the leftover stench of Boehner, who was a heavy smoker.
Unfortunately, the call belong to the Speaker as to whether smoking is allowed, as the Congress is exempt from Federal and State laws regarding smoking.
Congress should end that exemption by law. Smoking should be banned in the Capitol and in all the House and Senate office buildings by law. Congress should, by law, waive its immunity from State law for Member’s District offices. If the Member is from a State that bans smoking in office buildings, then the Member’s District office would have to comply with that State law and be smoke free.
Enforcing smoking laws on We The People while exempting themselves is ■■■■■■ baggery of the worst sort. The smoking laws should apply equally to Congress.
The Federal Government has crafted numerous anti-tobacco regulations. They went to war with big tobacco.
Most relevantly, they have outlawed smoking in virtually all Federal Buildings.
If your the Secretary of State, you can’t smoke in your office.
If your any other cabinet member, you cannot smoke in your office.
If your a member of the Senior Executive Service or a General Schedule employee, you cannot smoke in your office or workplace or workplace building. If your in the military, you have strict limits on the locations that your allowed to smoke.
But arrogant, hypocritical Congress Members can smoke in THEIR hallowed offices and now they can smoke in the common areas of the House side of the Capitol. Literally the only place they can’t smoke now is on the Floor of the House of Representatives, which has been off limits to smoking since 1871.
What applies to Private Joe Sixpack in the Army or Bubba Workerbee in the Federal Civil Service should apply equally to Congress.
NO SMOKING.
PERIOD.
And it should be made law so it is not up to the whim of the Speaker of the day.
Visitors to the Capitol, staff members of Congress and employees of Congress, as well as lobbyists should not have to suffer through cigarette smoke to visit a public building, whether on vacation or on business.
Sure. There is no overarching federal anti-smoking law.
Most Americans aren’t any of those things. For the vast majority of us, when we are told we can’t smoke it’s the state government doing the telling
How is it hypocritical if Congress is not responsible for federal laws restricting smoking? And by the way, outside of the capitol, congress is subject to the same laws as you and I. Conversely, you and I can go to the capitol and now smoke.
Sure. Just like virtually everybody else. Interestingly, an executive order can reverse the prohibition for federal workers. The rest of us would need to get state laws changed.
Is your real beef here actually smoking itself?
Interesting. I wonder where you stood on mask mandates.
A few years back my wife and I got a tour of the Capitol by two interns from our Congressman’s office.
As we passed the Speakers office one of them mentioned that one could tell when Boehner was in his office because you could smell the cigarette smoke outside his office door. .
Or, anti smoking laws are BS and should be done away with, if a public business or venue wants to ban it, their choice, no mandate needed. No federal enumerated power for it to begin with.
My favorite overzealous anti smoking move was my state government outlawing completely separate smoking areas, no reason to even enter if you weren’t a smoker, banned anyway, no employees at risk. Just little smoking huts at area hospitals.
I barely even know anyone in real life who smokes (tobacco) anymore. One guy in my condo building, looks super unhealthy and very anti-social; i always see him smoking outside of our garage.
Besides that, hardly anyone comes to mind in my personal , professional or family life who regularly indulges in tobacco.
They should install exhaust fans and air filtration systems at the personal cost of the smoker. If they don’t want to pay for it then they should not be able to smoke in their office
BUt smoking is the plant based version of vaping. So much more sustainable.
The dems could past aborting your kid up to 18 years old and Bloomberg would not even report it but reps bring a smoke to congress and the dirt must fly… Thanks Karen!!
Smoking, including vaping, should not be permitted in tax-payer funded facilities. It is a known health hazard and government exists to protect citizens from themselves.
And a lot of them could use a ban on alcohol in the buildings.
