Hart Attack

WHEN YOU'RE an intern in the U.S. Senate, if doesn't take long to figure out how the office works. The administrative aide tells you on your first day. "Everybody has his own job to do, and his own responsibilities to delegate. But in the end, the decision's up to the man not woman in the big office at the end of the hall."

Imagine the confusion the Senate now faces after last week's opening of the new Hart Senate Office Building Not only does everybody get a big office there aren't any halls

The $137.7 million structure one of the most expensive federal buildings ever constructed has been the subject of controversy from its conception. The Senate rules committee planned the facility to alleviate severe overcrowding of Senate staffs in the two existing buildings. Darkness and Russell, which forced some offices to be moved into space in several former hotels near by.

The committee hoped that the marble and glass facility, with its soaring nine-story atrium, 16-foot ceilings, and state-of-the art office facilities, would attract 50 Senators and their staffs, while the other 50 would spread out in the older buildings. Who would not want a more spacious, more modern office, given the choice?

The rules committee got that answer last week. When the structure officially opened its doors, only 17 lawmakers had voiced a preference for the new building. The rest of the office will be distributed in order of seniority, which will apparently mean that those at the bottom of the ladder will be pushed into the remaining 33 spaces in Hart

Speculators form all sides are wondering why nobody wants to move. And critics of the Hart building--led by Sen. William Proximate (D. Wise.)--have outspokenly tried to explain. The building is just too opulent, too extravagant, they claim. In the midst of a severe economic slump, how can they justify moving in to a structure with white marble, bronze elevator doors and rooftop tennis courts? How would they explain to constituents visiting their offices--if they could find them in the maze of facilities?

But the real causes of the resistance to the move are probably less benevolent than they may appear. When I visited the building with the staff of the office in which I worked in this summer, the offices seemed nice enough. There were plenty of rooms, with well distributed space and nice reception area. But everybody else thought the place was just ridiculous. And the Senator could only laugh.

What was wrong. I learned, was that the main man's office was not down the hall, but right in the center of things. In the old offices, each Senator has a door from his office directly out to the hallway--an escape hatch of sorts. And inside, he is surrounded by his personal secretary and his administrative aide. If he doesn't want to a Senator never has to walk through the reception area of his office to see what's going on. He can hide out in his office, wheeling and dealing, as Senators are wont to do, coming and going with the utmost secrecy.

In the Hart Building, the Senator's office is just off his reception area. There his door stands exposed to anyone who might come to see him, any constituent to whom he might be responsible. Evidently, when it came to this decision, 83 of the men in the big offices at the end of the hall decided that, rather than face visiting constituents on a regular basis, they would prefer to stay right where they were: at the end of the hall.