House Member Proposes Private Firms Digitally Scan All Congressional Mail July 10, 2002 By Sarita Chourey The Hill, p. 16 The chairman of the House Administration Committee Monday discounted complaints by some House offices that a pilot program calling for hiring private firms to scan all incoming House mail into digitized computer files will compromise constituent privacy and disrupt communications between members and their constituents. Rep. Robert Ney (R-Ohio) said the program, which was developed after the congressional mail system was crippled by last fall's anthrax incidents, will drastically cut down the current processing delay, which averages almost two weeks. Some House offices had expressed concern that the plan, first reported Monday by The Washington Post, would complicate the handling of constituent mail, a vital part of any congressional office. While there are no plans to launch a similar initiative in the Senate, all mail destined for Senate offices is also being significantly delayed because it must first be irradiated, according to the Senate Sergeant at Arms Office. The new program, championed by the House Administration Committee and the House Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), entails hiring private contractors to open and scan the mail, which would then be sent electronically to congressional offices. "If people want a hard copy, you can print one off on your computer, and you can get the original [on a delayed basis] if you want it. It is safe, and quite foolproof. Original mail would come in safely to the House," Ney told The Hill. Since letters contaminated with deadly anthrax spores were delivered to several House and Senate offices last October, mail destined for Capitol Hill has been irradiated in New Jersey before being aired out for days and shipped to the Hill, a process that delays delivery by at least two weeks. "My goal with the pilot is to see how people like it," Ney said. "We know digitization will be faster. We have no way to separate offices out with the pilot. It must go through normal lag. If people like the pilot and the whole House converts, it will take one day versus 13 to read mail." Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), ranking member of the Administration Committee, also supported the idea of using the latest computer technology to meet the threat of biological terrorism through the mails. "Since the anthrax contamination, making the mail more reliable and safe has taken on a new urgency. This pilot program is part of examining our options for the best way to do that," he said. Ney predicted that most House members will support the new procedure, which would be put into effect in the next month or so. The pilot project would ideally draw at least 50 volunteer offices, said Ney, including his own. "If the pilot is issued, and it takes 30 days for members to look at it, we could move fast after that," Ney said, who added that the cost of the program has not been determined. House staffers also expressed concern that the new mail-handling system would delay the processing of checks for purchases of American flags flown over the Capitol. But Ney said it would not pose a problem since such requests can be honored through either electronic bank transfers or credit cards. Several of the companies bidding for the contract to run the digitization are equipped to deal with both payment methods. "People not familiar with digitization don't know that this can be done on-line, and the check is transmitted [more quickly.] It would be no problem," Ney said, adding that he had similar questions when it was discussed about four months ago. In addressing concerns that constituent mail is too sensitive to be opened by private contractors, Ney said, "Frankly, this year alone, I've gotten other members' mail delivered to me, but, of course, we forward it to them." In addition, many of the 20 companies bidding for the contract already handle highly classified information on blackened "floating screens," which prevent scanned material from being read. "Our CAO has done the best job he can do, but it's a fact of life from the hearings, that no matter what we do, we can't get our mail in faster than 13 days. I want my mail quicker, and it's not the Postal Service's fault," he said. Deborah Yackley, spokesperson for the U.S. Postal Service, said postal facilities in the House office buildings would not be affected.