Candy desk

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The candy desk with the drawer extended
Position in the plenary session of the US Senate

The candy desk is a candy- filled table in the US Senate boardroom . The table that serves as a work station for a Republican senator is in the last row near the hall entrance. Senators walking by there can freely help themselves to the candy stored in a drawer. The tradition goes back to Senator George Murphy from California , who first filled his table with sweets in 1968.

history

Murphy originally acquired the candy in 1965 to satisfy his own appetite. Since other senators also used the sweets, the table was declared a candy desk for everyone in 1968. When Murphy left the Senate in 1971, his successors continued the tradition at this seat. In the first few decades the Senator bought the candy with his own money, with other Senators subsidizing the purchase. The table wandered in the early years; only since the 97th Congress (1981-1983) has it had a permanent location. Also after a few years, the National Confectioners Association began to organize a sponsored increase in the table.

During Rick Santorum's senatorial tenure from Pennsylvania (1997 to 2007), Pennsylvania- based Hershey and Just Born would send him 100 pounds of candy four times a year to replenish his supplies. Although there is an official ban on eating in the meeting room, the ushers were tasked with monitoring the supply in the table drawer and refilling it if necessary.

Santorum's successor Craig L. Thomas from Wyoming sparked the 2007 "candy controversy". The Senate's ethics rules forbid accepting gifts of more than US $ 100 - an exception are gifts from the home state that the Senator gives to third parties. But since Wyoming has no candy makers of any size, it should have accepted gifts from other states. Thomas, himself a member of the ethics committee, solved the problem by buying the products of various small manufacturers in Wyoming from his campaign budget.

The candy desk is owned by Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania in the 116th Senate . It is therefore currently being filled with products from Just Born Quality Confections , Josh Early Candies , Mars Plant and Hershey Company .

owner

Period senator State
1965/1968 - January 3, 1971 George Murphy California
Jan. 21, 1971 - January 3, 1977 Paul Fannin Arizona
Jan. 4, 1977 - January 15, 1979 Harrison Schmitt New Mexico
January 5, 1981 - January 3, 1983 Roger Jepsen Iowa
January 3, 1983 - January 3, 1985 Steve Symms Idaho
January 3, 1985 - January 3, 1987 Slade Gorton Washington
January 3, 1987 - January 3, 1989 John McCain Arizona
January 3 - January 5, 1993 Slade Gorton Washington
January 5, 1993 - January 3, 1995 Jim Jeffords Vermont
January 4, 1995 - January 7, 1997 Bob Bennett Utah
January 7, 1997 - January 3, 2007 Rick Santorum Pennsylvania
January 3, 2007 - June 4, 2007 Craig Thomas Wyoming
June 25, 2007 - January 3, 2009 George Voinovich Ohio
January 3, 2009 - September 9, 2009 Mel Martinez Florida
September 10, 2009 - January 3, 2011 George LeMieux Florida
February 14, 2011 - January 3, 2015 Mark Kirk Illinois
since January 7, 2015 Pat Toomey Pennsylvania

Web links

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Shira Toeplitz: Mark Kirk: Senate candy man. In: Politico. January 13, 2011, accessed May 26, 2011 .
  2. ^ Katherine Buck: Senators' secret: They crave candy. (No longer available online.) In: Concord Monitor. January 16, 2005, archived from the original on January 21, 2014 ; accessed on May 26, 2011 (English): "When the supply in the drawer is low, it is also a page's duty to restock it." Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.concordmonitor.com
  3. ^ Noelle Straub: Sticky solution. Thomas toes ethics line on candy question. In: trib.com. April 15, 2007, accessed May 26, 2011 .
  4. ^ The Morning Call: US Senate 'candy desk' back in PA hands. Retrieved July 14, 2016 .