WASHINGTON—Discussing the idea at their monthly operations meeting Tuesday, facilities managers responsible for overseeing the U.S. Capitol and its grounds devised a new plan to repurpose the building’s seldom-used Senate chamber by converting it into a storage room. “It’s been years since people have used that room to do work of any kind, so from an efficiency standpoint, reallocating the space is kind of a no-brainer,” said Capitol building superintendent Mark Reed, describing how the chairs and desks would be removed and replaced with shelving, storage bins, pallet racks, and other warehousing equipment. “After all, it’s a pretty big room, especially with those high ceilings. It just doesn’t make any sense to have it sitting there unused.” Reed went on to describe a long-term plan to demolish all three Senate office buildings, noting that if current trends continue, lawmakers will eventually spend 100 percent of their time on the road raising funds for their next campaign.

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