WASHINGTON, March 16 (UPI) -- The congressional switchboard was smokin' Tuesday after conservative personality Rush Limbaugh urged listeners to call to protest the healthcare bill.
Ditto for the House e-mail system, which the House's technology office called "a very significant spike" in traffic, The Hill reported.
The situation became so serious that the House's chief administrative officer issued an advisory to members, warning them of the skyrocketing traffic.
"Our phone system is nearing capacity," said Jeff Ventura, CAO spokesman. "It got critical enough whereby we notified all systems administrators throughout the House that the phone systems are overloading."
Limbaugh posted the switchboard number on his Web site's homepage and urged listeners to call so they could voice their objections to the bill that the House may vote on during the weekend.
Ventura said the surge in calls, which will result in occasional busy signals for callers, is likely to continue through the week. If callers get a busy signal, they should hang up and keep calling until they are connected.
