Technology and the Senate
"They just sat there and gathered dust."
Dorothye G. Scott: Administrative Assistant to the Senate Democratic Secretary and to the Secretary of the Senate (1945-1977)
Scott discusses how Senate staff responded to computers being introduced to the Senate offices in the 1970s.
"…they were fearful that it was going to take their job."
F. Nordy Hoffman: Sergeant at Arms
Hoffman describes the initial reactions of Senate staffers when the first computers were purchased for senators' offices in the 1970s.
“I accept that that’s the way it’s going to be.”
G. William Hoagland: Staff Director of the Senate Budget Committee and Advisor to the Senate Majority Leader
Interviewed by Senate Historian Donald Ritchie, Hoagland comments on the advantages and disadvantages of changing technology in the Senate.
“It’s the white noise of my professional life.”
Richard A. Arenberg: Staff to Senators Paul Tsongas, George Mitchell and Carl Levin
Arenberg, interviewed by Senate Historian Donald Ritchie, discusses how his life as a Senate staffer changed when C-SPAN began airing Senate proceedings in 1986.
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