“But what if there are 10 babies on the floor of the Senate?”
This was the question posed by Senator Orrin hatch (R-ut), in the debate over whether children under 1 year should be allowed in the Senate during the vote.
The whole controversy began after Senator Tammy Duckworth (d-Il) recently became the first Senator to give birth in office. The rules of the Senate require a vote must be taken in person, and, as new parents are quite aware of, leaving of a newborn can be a struggle, especially for women who breastfeed.
So Duckworth offered a natural solution: making the rules of the Senate in the 21st century by providing new parents to take their children to the camera.
This proposal was, as Laurie Kellman of the associated Press reported, was initially met with some skepticism older male senators, it would seem that worried about possible child invasion on the most expensive cameras.
“I don’t think that’s necessary,” Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS) said the proposals, although he also noted that he doesn’t mind.
And then there was Luke, who cares about long-term consequences of these changes, the rule: “what if there are 10 babies on the floor of the Senate?”
This, of course, led to a flurry of jokes on Twitter about the possible retention of a child is the more deliberative body of Congress:
But let us seriously question the hatch for a moment: what if we live in a world where there were 10 children in the Senate, all brought there during the vote, presumably, on their Senator parents?
After All, Sensei. Luke, Roberts, and their 98 colleagues unanimously voted to children in the Senate, bringing us one step closer to more babies crawling around the Capitol.
The Senate will undoubtedly be a little noisier. The Capitol architectural Bureau could and should strive to increase the number of lactation rooms on Capitol hill to accommodate the new patrons.
In a world where 10 children were in the Senate, presumably it is a world where there are women serving in the Senate — as we know that in most families where both parents work, women continue to take care of most of the responsibilities for child care. It certainly sounds like a good thing: currently, 21 women serve in the Senate. Only 50 women serving in the Senate in the entire history of the body.
In a world where 10 children were in the Senate can encourage more women to work for the government — the understanding that they could have a bright future in a government that supports women and thinks that this should be done within reasonable limits to allow them to work.
In a world where 10 children were in the Senate, it may be necessary to improve the financing services for the supervision and care, where currently the line is “several” years.
In a world where 10 children were in the Senate, when men take a more active role in the upbringing of children. Men have children while they serve in the Senate — you just don’t hear so much about it. Allowing these people also bring their children to the Senate will allow fathers easier to share fairly in child care with their partners. Economists who study gender disparities in pay I think it’s an equal division of labor is the key to ensuring that women could get paid the same as men.
If you think about it, in the world with 10 babies in the Senate doesn’t sound too bad at all.
Update: after I tweeted a link to this story, Senator hatch office replied (also via Twitter), a statement from the Senator:
And later on Thursday Afternoon, 10 days old Senator Duckworth child has made history by becoming the first baby to enter the Senate — with a conscious choice of clothes to her mother.
Sourse: vox.com
