# Why babies on the Senate floor? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 20, 2018, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-babies-on-the-senate-floor/812769 "2018-04-20T12:14:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2018, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-babies-on-the-senate-floor/812769/41 "2018-04-20T22:27:40Z")
Note that the rules have been changed to allow infants under 1 year old only. And it seems like a reasonable accommodation to the random nature of senate votes. They also had to change the rules so that the baby was not required to wear shoes or shirt and tie (or blouse and skirt), or wear a senate pin–whatever that is. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2018, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-babies-on-the-senate-floor/812769/42 "2018-04-20T22:38:29Z")
The senate pin identifies senators. It’s basically the pass card for senator-only locations ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2018, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-babies-on-the-senate-floor/812769/43 "2018-04-20T22:40:52Z")
This will probably last as long as she’s breastfeeding, which I’m assuming she is and that’s why she wanted permission to take Maile onto the floor. After that, she can leave the baby with her husband or another child care provider. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2018, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-babies-on-the-senate-floor/812769/44 "2018-04-20T22:59:48Z")
Even if we grant that the benefits of this are minor, what’s the drawback? Why did we ever disallow infants on the Senate floor in the first place? If a kid’s being disruptive, they can be asked to leave, but then, that’s true for an adult, too. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2018, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-babies-on-the-senate-floor/812769/45 "2018-04-20T23:18:43Z")
Infants were probably never singled out, it was probably more like “no one under the age of X” being allowed on the floor, which just happens to include infants. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2018, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-babies-on-the-senate-floor/812769/46 "2018-04-20T23:42:34Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Infants were probably never singled out, it was probably more like “no one under the age of X” being allowed on the floor, which just happens to include infants. That’d be my guess, as well (I’m failing to find the actual rules with a quick search). And, this circumstance hasn’t ever come up before – Duckworth is the first Senator to give birth while in office. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2018, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-babies-on-the-senate-floor/812769/47 "2018-04-21T01:19:48Z")
OK, “no one under the age of X”, then. But I can still imagine a visitor to the Senate bringing their kid in, to show them Democracy in Action and to engage them in Civics and Patriotism, and all that. Sure, the kid would probably be bored, but it’s a noble goal. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2018, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-babies-on-the-senate-floor/812769/48 "2018-04-21T01:23:30Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > OK, “no one under the age of X”, then. But I can still imagine a visitor to the Senate bringing their kid in, to show them Democracy in Action and to engage them in Civics and Patriotism, and all that. Sure, the kid would probably be bored, but it’s a noble goal. Members of the public aren’t allowed on the Senate floor anyway, for the most part. The public has access to the gallery, and I believe there are often young folks there, especially in school groups. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2018, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-babies-on-the-senate-floor/812769/49 "2018-04-21T02:04:01Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > I remember when Marissa Mayer was returning to work at Yahoo, there were a bunch of articles about it. IIRC, they were building out offices for her personal daycare center, staffed by nannies - more than your assembly line Jane Schmo might expect! Yep. Very few women can expect their employer to construct a soundproof nursery suite adjacent to their office and staff it with nannies. That’s not gonna happen at all in the public sector (well, maybe when we have a POTUS give birth in office). ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2018, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-babies-on-the-senate-floor/812769/50 "2018-04-21T04:59:07Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > That’s fine. Like I said, I really don’t care strongly as this applies to Senators. If it gets to the point where my co-workers are bringing their kids to work on a regular basis, I’ll re-consider whether or not I care. Gore Vidal was on the floor of the senate on a regular basis as a kid (shirtless and shoeless in that simpler time). By his description, DC was a sleepy country town then. I wonder when and why the rule now being changed was introduced? ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2018, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-babies-on-the-senate-floor/812769/51 "2018-04-21T05:00:55Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > (well, maybe when we have a POTUS give birth in office). Big win for home birth 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2018, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-babies-on-the-senate-floor/812769/52 "2018-04-21T05:30:41Z")
We have a baby in the White House. Why not the Senate too? ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2018, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-babies-on-the-senate-floor/812769/53 "2018-04-21T15:27:02Z")
The baby did obey the Senate dress code. Sen. Duckworth made sure she had on a blazer! > ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2018, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-babies-on-the-senate-floor/812769/54 "2018-04-21T16:54:44Z")
Can anyone link to that actual rule that banned children from the Senate floor? My Google Fu is failing me. Just curious more than anything else. All the articles I can find refer to “the longstanding rule banning children form the Senate floor”, but none of them says what the rule was. Wikipedia has a list of rules, but none of them appear to address children on the floor. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2018, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-babies-on-the-senate-floor/812769/55 "2018-04-21T17:26:44Z")
My coworker brought in his 4-month-old to the office one day last week due to some sort of childcare hiccup. All-day, every day might be a problem, but we’re far from that. This is so many kinds of not a big deal. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2018, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-babies-on-the-senate-floor/812769/56 "2018-04-21T17:56:20Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Can anyone link to that actual rule that banned children from the Senate floor? My Google Fu is failing me. Just curious more than anything else. All the articles I can find refer to “the longstanding rule banning children form the Senate floor”, but none of them says what the rule was. Wikipedia has a list of rules, but none of them appear to address children on the floor. > **[SMAN-113-pg23.pdf](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/SMAN-113/pdf/SMAN-113-pg23.pdf)** > > 132.87 KB Like a nightclub, if your name ain’t on the list, you ain’t getting in. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2018, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-babies-on-the-senate-floor/812769/57 "2018-04-21T18:05:17Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > [https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/SMAN-113/pdf/SMAN-113-pg23.pdf](https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/SMAN-113/pdf/SMAN-113-pg23.pdf) > > Like a nightclub, if your name ain’t on the list, you ain’t getting in. Thanks. So it’s not like there was a rule that singled out children being banned, it’s just that “children” fall into the category of “not part of officialdom; just a member of the general public”. But perhaps this part could be a workaround: “The officers and employees of the Senate in the discharge of their official duties”. Make the kid an employee, with the duty of being the official pooper and vomiter, and they would be allowed on the floor to “discharge” their official duties. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2018, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-babies-on-the-senate-floor/812769/58 "2018-04-22T01:58:33Z")
Am i the only one who has a problem with a 10 day old baby going anywhere, let alone a large public building like that. It’s dangerous to the child which has a underdeveloped immune system and it shouldn’t be in public until at least 6 weeks. Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2018, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-babies-on-the-senate-floor/812769/59 "2018-04-22T02:41:06Z")
> [@drewder](#): > > Am i the only one who has a problem with a 10 day old baby going anywhere, let alone a large public building like that. It’s dangerous to the child which has a underdeveloped immune system and it shouldn’t be in public until at least 6 weeks. > > Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk I think you’re wrong and I don’t have a problem with this. Millions of babies have been born throughout history and very few of them would have had the privilege of staying out of the public for 6 weeks. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2018, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-babies-on-the-senate-floor/812769/60 "2018-04-22T02:44:06Z")
Considering that this is a body that allows filibuster as a debate tactic, I can’t imagine that the presence of a physical infant is more disruptive than normal Senate proceedings ever are. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-babies-on-the-senate-floor/812769.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-babies-on-the-senate-floor/812769.md?page=4)