Capito Legislation to Strengthen Page Board Unanimously Passes House

Capito Legislation to Strengthen Page Board Unanimously Passes House

Bipartisan legislation offered by Reps. Dale Kildee (D-MI) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) to strengthen the board that oversees teenage pages was approved unanimously today by the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 416 to 0.

Reps. Capito and Kildee, both members of the House Page Board, were not informed last year of the communications made by former Rep. Mark Foley to former House pages until they were reported by members of the media.

The Kildee-Capito legislation requires more frequent and regular meetings of the Page Board and mandates equal representation by requiring the same number of Republican and Democrat members of Congress serving on the board. The bill also calls for the inclusion of a parent of a current page or recent page to the board.

Rep. Kildee said, "I have enjoyed working with Congresswoman Capito on the restructuring of the House Page Board. Our reforms will make the Page Board more effective and will help ensure that the House pages have a good experience on Capitol Hill while providing them a secure environment.

"I am extremely proud of this legislation and I look forward to working with my friend, Rep. Kildee, to strengthen this program that offers our nations youth such a wonderful opportunity," said Rep. Capito. This legislation places a renewed emphasis on strengthening this program and making it safer for the young people who participate in it. It is also important symbolically because it demonstrates that nothing the Page Board does in acting to keep children safe is partisan.

Last October, Rep. Capito was the first member of the Page Board to publicly suggest reforms to strengthen the page program. Todays legislation includes key suggestions offered by Rep. Capito: equal representation of Republican and Democrat members of the House that serve on the board and more frequent board meetings.

I am pleased that my suggestions were included in this effort, and I embrace the other provisions in this legislation because I believe they will make a big difference in helping provide a safe atmosphere so the young people in this program can have a safe and fun learning experience.

http://capito.house.gov/press_office/detail-page.aspx?id=222&whichone=pr