Taking a Page (Well, Two) From History

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As you may have heard by now, former Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.) is not the first member of Congress to be involved in a congressional page scandal.

Twenty-three years ago, the House Ethics Committee concluded that Reps. Gerry Studds (D-Mass.) and Daniel Crane (R-Ill.) had each engaged in sexual relationships with seventeen-year-old pages. Both admitted to the respective affairs, each of which had taken place several years earlier. While the Ethics Committee recommended only that the members be reprimanded, many felt that this punishment was not strong enough. Some, including future Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), argued that each member should be expelled from the House.

Ultimately, the chamber voted on measures to upgrade the punishment of both Studds and Crane from a reprimand to a censure. While only eight House Republicans opposed the upgrade for Studds (a Democrat), thirty-seven opposed it for Crane (a Republican). Meanwhile, slightly more Democrats supported the upgrade for Studds, their own member, than Crane. Once the measures passed, the actual censure resolutions were brought to the floor, where each was approved overwhelmingly (Studds: 420-3, Crane: 421-3).

Studds and Crane saw their careers go in separate directions following the censures. Studds was reelected to the House six times, eventually serving as Chairman of the House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries (before it was dissolved in 1996). Crane, however, could not overcome the scandal and was defeated in his 1984 bid for reelection.

For a more detailed account, check out Congresspedia’s page on the 1983 Congressional Page Scandal.