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Training for a New Era

These days, in absence of computers it would be hard for Capitol Hill to conduct any business. But in the late 1960s, the new technology was a novelty in a world of typewriters and the ever-reliable pen and paper. In this 1967 photo, Speaker John McCormack (D-Mass.) and House Majority Leader Carl Albert (D-Okla.) learn to use the first computer in the House. That year, just three computers were on Capitol Hill, according to the Office of the House Historian — one for the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms, one for the Legislative Reference Service and one for the Clerk of the House. The machines were used for inventory, payroll and other accounting work, according to the Historian’s office.

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