Here’s one reason that Congress seems unsure about whether to limit ATM transaction fees to 50¢, as it’s been suggested: Some Senators aren’t exactly sure what ATM cards are, or how they work. “I’ve never used an ATM, so I don’t know what the fees are,” says one Senator. “It’s true, I don’t know how to use one.”
But, says Ben Nelson, the 69-year-old Senator from Nebraska in question, as reported in the Omaha World-Tribune:
“I could learn how to do it just like I’ve . . . I swipe to get my own gas, buy groceries. I know about the holograms.”
By “holograms,” Nelson clarified that he meant the bar codes on products read by automatic scanners in the checkout lanes at stores such as Lowe’s and Menard’s.
“I go and get my own seating assignment on an airplane,” Nelson said. “I mean, I’m not without some skills. I just haven’t had the need to use an ATM.”
The Washington Post followed up on the initial report by stating that other Senators rarely or never use ATMs, and that, basically, Congress is as old and out of touch as it’s ever been (and that’s saying a lot):
The remarks also appear to provide further evidence of a generation gap in the halls of an aging Congress. The average age of members is among the highest of any Congress in the past century, according to a February report from the Congressional Research Service. The CRS found that the average age of senators at the start of the session was 63.1 years, which is three years higher than it was four years ago; the average for the House was 57.2 years, which is up by two years. The Senate’s longest-serving member, Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.), is 92.
Age shouldn’t matter, I suppose, so long as you “know about the holograms.”