WASHINGTON, D.C. - One possible reason that an amendment limiting ATM fees failed to pass the Senate could be the age of most senators, posits the Washington Post. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) has been trying to get automated teller machine fees limited for a while, but his colleagues did not support his amendment last week.

It appears that many of the older senators have had no interaction with the cash machines and therefore have no firsthand knowledge of how they work. For example, Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) said he??s never even used an ATM, while Sen. Mike Johanns (R-NE) has only visited an ATM less than a handful of times.

Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA), ranking Republican on the Finance Committee, boasts that, while possessing a bank card, has never used it at an ATM. "I??ve never used an ATM, so I don??t know what the fees are. It??s true, I don??t know how to use one," he said, adding that he "could learn how to do it."

Other Washington politicians have run into problems with modern technology?"think former President George H.W. Bush not being familiar with checkout scanners?"but unfamiliarity with technology demonstrates a growing generation gap in Congress. The average age of congressional members ranks among the highest in the past 100 years. This year??s average age of senators was 63.1 years, while the average House member age was 57.2 years.

ATMs first came to this country in 1969, and today there are more than 1.7 million cash machines across the globe. Harkin proposed that ATM fees be tied to the transaction amount, but his amendment failed to pass.

Harkin, who is 70, has personal experience with ATM fees. "I can confirm that Senator Harkin has used an ATM card," said spokeswoman Bergen Kenny. "He uses it regularly."