So, does the GSA Smoking Ban not apply to our elected officials ? ? ?

 

 

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Wisconsin Republican Paul Ryan can add one more burning issue to his agenda as the new speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives: how to get rid of the stench of cigarette smoke.

 

Ryan said on Sunday he has been trying to come up with ways to remove the smell of cigarettes from the House speaker's office that he took over on Thursday after he replaced the retiring John Boehner, a heavy smoker.

 

Asked if he is going to be able to get the smell of smoke out of the place, the fitness-conscious congressman said, "That's a really good question. And we've been talking about that."

 

"They have these ozone machines, apparently, that you can detoxify the environment. But I'm going to have to work on the carpeting in here," Ryan told the NBC program "Meet the Press."

 

"You know, if you ever go to like a hotel room or get a rental car that's been smoked in? That's what this smells like," Ryan added.

 

To complicate things, Ryan does not have a residence in Washington and sleeps in his office.

 

"I'm just a normal guy," Ryan told CNN's "State of the Union" program.

 

CNN interviewer Dana Bash, with a laugh, then told him, "Yes, but normal guys don't sleep in their offices."

 

Ryan said that he lives in Janesville, Wisconsin, and commutes back and forth to Washington every week.

 

"I just work here. I don't live here. So I get up very early in the morning. I work out. I work until about 11:30 at night. I go to bed. And I do the same thing the next day," Ryan said.

 

"It actually makes me more efficient. I can actually get more work done by sleeping on a cot in my office. I have been doing it for at least a decade, and I'm going to keep doing it."

Smoking in Federal Buildings

 

What is the policy on smoking in federal buildings?

 

The President issued an Executive Order 13058, "Protecting Federal Employees and the Public from Exposure to Tobacco Smoke in the Federal Workplace," on August 9, 1997, establishing a smoke-free environment for federal employees and members of the public visiting or using federal facilities. In furtherance of EO13058, GSA issued FMR Amendment 2008-08, which enforces additional restrictions in GSA-controlled buildings.

 

Is smoking banned in all federal space?

 

The Executive Order bans smoking in all Executive Branch facilities, all interior space owned, rented, or leased space by the Executive Branch of the federal government.

 

Are there any exceptions to this ban?

 

There are certain excepted spaces, which include:

 

designated smoking areas. However, effective June 19, 2009, designated smoking areas in GSA-controlled buildings will be eliminated.

residential accommodations in buildings owned, leased, rented by the federal government;

portions of federally-owned buildings leased, rented, or otherwise provided (in their entirety) to non-federal parties; and

places of employment in the private sector or in other non-federal governmental units that serve as the permanent or intermittent duty station of one or more federal employees.

 

What about outside areas, such as around doorways and air intake ducts?

 

The Executive Order does not apply to outdoor areas under Executive Branch control, except in front of air intake ducts. In the case of locations such as doorways and in courtyards, agency heads shall evaluate the need to restrict smoking in order to protect workers and visitors from environmental tobacco smoke, and may restrict smoking in these areas. In furtherance of EO13058, effective 6/19/09, smoking is banned in courtyards and within 25 feet of doorways on GSA-controlled properties.

That'll cost you $450 at a Red Roof.

Smoking in Federal Buildings

 

What is the policy on smoking in federal buildings?

 

The President issued an Executive Order 13058, "Protecting Federal Employees and the Public from Exposure to Tobacco Smoke in the Federal Workplace," on August 9, 1997, establishing a smoke-free environment for federal employees and members of the public visiting or using federal facilities. In furtherance of EO13058, GSA issued FMR Amendment 2008-08, which enforces additional restrictions in GSA-controlled buildings.

 

Is smoking banned in all federal space?

 

The Executive Order bans smoking in all Executive Branch facilities, all interior space owned, rented, or leased space by the Executive Branch of the federal government.

 

Are there any exceptions to this ban?

 

There are certain excepted spaces, which include:

 

designated smoking areas. However, effective June 19, 2009, designated smoking areas in GSA-controlled buildings will be eliminated.

residential accommodations in buildings owned, leased, rented by the federal government;

portions of federally-owned buildings leased, rented, or otherwise provided (in their entirety) to non-federal parties; and

places of employment in the private sector or in other non-federal governmental units that serve as the permanent or intermittent duty station of one or more federal employees.

 

What about outside areas, such as around doorways and air intake ducts?

 

The Executive Order does not apply to outdoor areas under Executive Branch control, except in front of air intake ducts. In the case of locations such as doorways and in courtyards, agency heads shall evaluate the need to restrict smoking in order to protect workers and visitors from environmental tobacco smoke, and may restrict smoking in these areas. In furtherance of EO13058, effective 6/19/09, smoking is banned in courtyards and within 25 feet of doorways on GSA-controlled properties.

 

Speakers office would be Legislative Branch not Executive Branch...maybe that's the loophole. Or the fact that it's not public space maybe.

Speakers office would be Legislative Branch not Executive Branch...maybe that's the loophole. Or the fact that it's not public space maybe.

 

I thought the same thing initially, but when you read through all the rest it would appear that isn't the loophole. However, effective June 19, 2009, designated smoking areas in GSA-controlled buildings will be eliminated.

 

I am assuming that the Capital building is considered a GSA controlled building. Also willing to bet a few rooms in the big white house up the street have the same issue....

 

Either way we should send the bill to Boehner....