House Page Program Under Scrutiny Again

Boehner, Pelosi say technology has outdated $5M program

(NEWSER) - Gone are the days of House pages dashing furiously scribbled notes across the Capitol to their rep's legislative friends or foes: John Boehner and Nancy Pelosi today announced the end of the House's storied Page Program. Though Boehner and Pelosi hailed pages' "unique role" in the "history and traditions of the House," they said the program had been rendered antiquated by wireless communications—and they could no longer justify the whopping $5 million each year spent on pages. More»

2 years after resignation, Republican tries to put own spin on explicit messages to teens

(AP) - Even today, 2 years after Mark Foley's very public fall from grace, the former congressman can't explain why he sent lurid, sexually explicit computer messages to male teens working as Capitol Hill pages. "There was never anywhere in those conversations where someone said, 'Stop,' or 'I'm not enjoying this,' or 'This is inappropriate.' But again, I'm the adult here, I'm the congressman," Foley said. More»

Bipartisan support for probe into charges about teen pages

(NEWSER) - House leaders called for an independent investigation yesterday into “allegations” related to teenage pages after two Republican resignations from the House Page Board. The Republicans faulted House Clerk Lorraine Miller, a page program administrator, for not “immediately” alerting them to misbehavior. Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite, who resigned, said four pages have been ejected this year due to shoplifting and sexual misconduct. More»

He'll have surgery tomorrow to remove prostate

(NEWSER) - Ready to feel bad for a disgraced ex-congressman ? Mark Foley has prostate cancer, he tells NewsMax . Foley, who now hosts a conservative radio show, revealed that he’ll undergo surgery tomorrow to remove his entire prostate. “Naturally, I have some reservations about the surgery. Nobody wants their plumbing messed with,” he said. “But I feel mostly good about it.” More»

Anthony Weiner is far from alone on the list of House bad boys

(NEWSER) - Anthony Weiner is just the latest and most aptly-named bad boy to fall from grace in Congress's lower chamber: It was only February when Rep. Chris Lee's self portraits and search for hookups on Craigslist led him to join the ranks of the unemployed, and there was a long line of randy reps before that. Politico rounds up the top 10 sex scandals to hit the House:

• Mark Foley, R-Fla.: Who could forget the congressman's tireless work on behalf of missing and exploited children? Or his relentless pursuit of teenage boys in the House Page Program? Foley's emails to one teen page consisted of banter such as, "Do I make you horny?" or "You in your boxers?"