Consultants to review House page program

WASHINGTON, April 19 (UPI) -- Congressional leaders have chosen two consultants to review the scandal-plagued page program in the U.S. House, officials said.

The Hill reported House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, have tapped former Congressional Management Foundation Executive Director Richard Shapiro and Philadelphia high school Principal William Weary.

The newspaper reported the two are charged with leading a comprehensive and independent review of the page program, created in 1827. They will release their findings this year.

Along with updated rules for the page program and the House Inspector General's report, the independent review is aimed at ensuring the program "effectively supports the operations of the House and serves the interests of the pages in 2008," Pelosi and Boehner said in a joint statement.