As the economy continues to falter and the debate persists on the nation’s economic wellbeing a beneficial program for high school students is being cut due to costs and technology. The House of Representatives Page Program, that permitted high school students to be messengers in order to learn about Congress, is being terminated after nearly 200 years.  Because of technology, members of Congress are able to electronically send out information to other government officials which lessen the need for House pages. According to both House Speaker John Boehner and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, the program was a yearly expense of approximately five million dollars. This seems to be unnecessary because of the cost and the fact that technology now accomplishes the job of the House pages. An additional reason for ending the House Page Program is because of some scandals that have surrounded it.

Despite the reasons that seem to justify ending the program, I believe that this program is necessary for enhancing American youth. It seems nowadays that we tend to forsake beneficial programs due to funding and monetary issues. This is always at the disadvantage to students who seek to learn from these programs. The U.S. House of Representatives Page Program has empowered high school students with helpful tools to assist them in government related careers. Now that the program has been cancelled, the youth who are interested in government related occupations will not receive the same training and experience that they would have if they were part of the House of Representatives Page Program.

This decision to end the page program at the end of August is a true testament of the fact that technology is becoming so necessary in everyday life that it has become detrimental. It appears as if this technology that allows for delivering messages is disadvantageous to high school students. The House Page Program, since the 1820s, has given high school students the opportunity to transport messages and learn about the working of the U.S. Congress. Clearly, by ending this long education tradition, the government is doing a disservice to teenagers and ultimately depriving them of essential exclusive knowledge. I think that the U.S. House of Representatives should reconsider eliminating the Page Program and find some way to cut the costs of it. This program is one of the greatest ways to teach high school students about Congress firsthand and should definitely continue.

By: Feyaad Allie