Speaker-Speaker of the house 2011

FOCUS-GLOBAL.CO.CC-Speaker of the house 2011 For those who are avid followers of Apple technology, you’ll no doubt find some humor in the fact that Texas Congressman Henry Cuellar (D-Laredo) is getting some notice from technology blogs for using an iPad while on the Speaker’s podium in the U.S. House of Representatives

We’ve been giving some thought to polling members of the Texas Legislature and inquiring about what their favorite iPhone and iPad apps are while on the House floor. Maybe we’ll do that this week.

If you were watching C-SPAN on Tuesday, your eyes weren’t deceiving you: That really was an iPad on the speaker’s podium in the House of Representatives.


The owner was Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Democratic congressman from Texas and an admitted tech-geek.


“I’ve always considered myself a techie,” Cuellar told POLITICO. “I’m always looking for the newest technology out there and I’ve done that for many, many years. The iPad is just one of those fabulous pieces of equipment that’s available out there. First thing I do in the morning is get my cup of coffee and start reading the papers. … And at night,
before I go to bed, I check my last e-mails and check to see if there’s any new stories online.”


He says he’s not the only one toting the Apple gadget: “I’ve seen a couple of other members that have their iPads.”


His reading lineup? In order: POLITICO (he swears he wasn’t just brown-nosing), Politics Daily, The Hill, Washington Post, USA Today, New York Times and the Associated Press.


As for apps, he has one to check up on his House colleagues (“Congress in Your Pocket”) and one that can serve as a teleprompter when he delivers prepared remarks. His staff can send the “text of a speech of talking points and then you just turn it on and, depending on what speech you want to go to, you can use it as a teleprompter.”


But don’t expect to see him goofing around on it. “No, there’s no Angry Birds on my iPad app, I can assure you,” said Cuellar, referring to the popular iPad game.