Linestanding

Linestanding or seatholding is a service provided in Washington, D.C. to lobbyists, corporate legislative offices, non-profit organizations, lawyers, and other people having an interest in matters being debated or bills being marked up by the United States House of Representatives or United States Senate. The linestanding company will send someone to Capitol Hill to stand in line well in advance of the hearing or mark-up to help the client gain entry into the hearing room with a good seat in the visitors gallery.

On October 18, 2007, Senator Claire McCaskill from Missouri proposed that linestanding for registered lobbyists be made illegal. Her feeling was that lobbyists should have to stand in line with everyone else.[1][2] A linestanding company wrote in response to McCaskill's bill that eliminating the linestanding industry would eliminate hundreds of entry level jobs and increase costs for all involved.[3]

In March 2012, the Supreme Court heard an unprecedented three days of oral arguments in regards to the Affordable Care Act (President Obama's Health Care Reform Law). Linestanders stood on 1st Street NE for four days holding spaces for various State Attorneys General, industry lobbyists, healthcare professors, and other interested parties.[4]

Other examples of linestanding services include a service launched in Birmingham, AL as a response to the long wait times at the Jefferson County Courthouse Department of Motor Vehicles.[5]

References

  1. ↑ McCaskill's press release at Senate.gov
  2. ↑ The Washington Post reported on McCaskill's proposal
  3. ↑ "Response to S. 2177" (PDF).
  4. ↑ "The Bizarre Business Of Professional Line-Standing". Capitol Hill News. Retrieved 2017-10-31.
  5. ↑ http://dontwait4.it Archived 2016-06-10 at the Wayback Machine.
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