Rumble escalates over House hallway displays

Republican lawmakers are escalating a battle over House hallway rules that have led to the removal of dozens of political displays and memorials to fallen troops.

One Republican office complains that its views are being censored by the rules, while another is asking Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to clarify whether he can put posters honoring fallen troops on the walls directly outside his office.

{mosads}The new rule was intended to remove from House hallways those obstacles that could make it more difficult to exit office buildings during an emergency. It has forced the removal of 35 easels with posters that either promoted political positions or honored soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Republican and Democratic offices have been impacted.

Fifteen displays honoring soldiers were taken down by officials with the Chief Administrative Office (CAO) and returned to member offices. Twenty other displays dealing with various political issues were also removed, but were not returned. The CAO is keeping those displays until members claim them.

Members had faced an Aug. 1 deadline to remove the displays.

“We don’t believe the AOC (Architect of the Capitol) should be in the practice of censoring what members put outside of their offices,” said Frederick Hill, press secretary for Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.).

Employees with the AOC removed a sign posted on Issa’s door that criticized Democrats for moving legislation, including the “Monkey Safety Act,” while not taking steps to deal with high gas prices. A sign protesting the hallway rules had been displayed on an easel outside Issa’s office last week.

Issa’s new sign complied with the new hallway rule, but was found to violate an older House Office Building Commission (HOBC) rule in place at least since former Rep. Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) was Speaker. The rule prohibits “displaying any flag, banner, or device designed or adapted to bring into public notice any person, organization or movement.”

A spokesman for the CAO confirmed that his office and the AOC had been directed to remove the signs.

“The Chief Administrative Office and the AOC have been directed to remove any signs or posters that violate (the HOBC) rules, which predate and are independent of the newer hallway policy,” said CAO spokesman Jeff Ventura.

Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.) told The Hill he would ask Pelosi to clarify whether his posters comply with House rules. Jones in the last week has posted displays honoring soldiers who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan directly on to the walls outside his office.

“There is no way those posters can interfere with anyone’s access to the hallway at all. They’re flush against the wall, almost like the paint,” said Jones, who has long advocated an exemption for signs honoring fallen troops from a clean-hallway policy.

But the display does appear to violate the older rule AOC and CAO are enforcing.

The enforcement also appears to have led to state seals being stripped from the office doors of three members, Reps. Sam Farr (D-Calif.), Mary Bono Mack (R-Calif.) and Paul Hodes (D-N.H.).

It is unclear whether the seals were taken down for the same reason as the sign on Issa’s office door. “Nobody’s ever enforced (the rules) up until now, so it’s kind of a surprising coincidence,” Hill said.

Ventura said members are “encouraged to move posters, including memorials to fallen soldiers, into their offices, where these policies do not apply and where those posters will still be visible to visiting constituents and guests.”

Issa’s office has taken a creative approach to comply with the rules. His poster has been attached to a wall-mounted flag pole outside his office door. Lawmakers are still allowed to have three flags outside their doors, as long as they are mounted from the wall.