March 06, 2013
A northwestern New Jersey congressman says he is working to get White House tours reinstated, after the U.S. Secret Service and National Park Service announced they will be canceled beginning Saturday due to automatic budget cuts.
In the meantime, U.S. Rep. Leonard Lance invites constituents to tour the U.S. Capitol instead.
"I am pleased to announce that my office will continue to provide public tours of the United States Capitol and would welcome the opportunity to provide a free tour of the U.S. Capitol to anyone visiting Washington who will now be unable to visit the White House because of the president’s decision," Lance, a Republican whose 7th Congressional District includes Hunterdon and southern Warren counties, said in a statement today.
Visit visitthecapitol.gov/visit/book_a_tour for more information on Capitol tours.
The cancellation of White House tours, announced Tuesday, comes at the start of the spring tourist season in the nation's capital. It cuts off firsthand glimpses into what first lady Michelle Obama, on whitehouse.gov, calls the "People's House ... a place where everyone should feel welcome.
"And that's why my husband and I have made it our mission to open up the house to as many people as we can," the first lady says on the official website.
Callers to the White House Visitors Office information line are told that tours already planned will not be rescheduled. The free, self-guided tours can take three weeks to six months for visitors to arrange through requests submitted to members of Congress or to embassies.
The cancellation is one of the consequences attributed to the automatic spending cuts that began to take effect Friday. The cuts, known in Washington as "sequestration," were initially designed to force Congress and the Obama administration to agree to a long-term deficit reduction plan. Those negotiations, however, failed to come up with an alternative.
As a result, the government has been forced to cut $85 billion from myriad federal accounts between March 1 and Sept. 30.
The U.S. Secret Service said that Uniformed Division Officers assigned to the public tours will be reassigned to other security posts. The reassignments will reduce overtime costs as well as potential furloughs that could have been required to meet the cuts in spending, the Secret Service said.
Beyond White House tours, President Barack Obama's administration says on whitehouse.gov, "it is committed to making this the most open and participatory administration in history." The engagement page on the website offers ways to pose questions and comments and join online events with White House officials.
Lance said he is working with Republicans and Democrats to reverse the cancellation of White House tours and said he is "disappointed the White House has chosen to cut public tours at a cost-savings of $1 million while it continues to spend lavishly on other projects, such as expensive junkets, presidential golf outings and new uniforms for airport security agents."
"The planning for the possibility of sequestration has been under way for some time," he also says in his statement. "Consequently alternative spending reductions have been implemented within my congressional office to ensure public tours and other regular activities can proceed as they normally would.
"The White House should be expected to do the same."
A northwestern New Jersey congressman says he is working to get White House tours reinstated, after the U.S. Secret Service and National Park Service announced they will be canceled beginning Saturday due to automatic budget cuts.
In the meantime, U.S. Rep. Leonard Lance invites constituents to tour the U.S. Capitol instead.
"I am pleased to announce that my office will continue to provide public tours of the United States Capitol and would welcome the opportunity to provide a free tour of the U.S. Capitol to anyone visiting Washington who will now be unable to visit the White House because of the president’s decision," Lance, a Republican whose 7th Congressional District includes Hunterdon and southern Warren counties, said in a statement today.
Visit visitthecapitol.gov/visit/book_a_tour for more information on Capitol tours.
The cancellation of White House tours, announced Tuesday, comes at the start of the spring tourist season in the nation's capital. It cuts off firsthand glimpses into what first lady Michelle Obama, on whitehouse.gov, calls the "People's House ... a place where everyone should feel welcome.
"And that's why my husband and I have made it our mission to open up the house to as many people as we can," the first lady says on the official website.
Callers to the White House Visitors Office information line are told that tours already planned will not be rescheduled. The free, self-guided tours can take three weeks to six months for visitors to arrange through requests submitted to members of Congress or to embassies.
The cancellation is one of the consequences attributed to the automatic spending cuts that began to take effect Friday. The cuts, known in Washington as "sequestration," were initially designed to force Congress and the Obama administration to agree to a long-term deficit reduction plan. Those negotiations, however, failed to come up with an alternative.
As a result, the government has been forced to cut $85 billion from myriad federal accounts between March 1 and Sept. 30.
The U.S. Secret Service said that Uniformed Division Officers assigned to the public tours will be reassigned to other security posts. The reassignments will reduce overtime costs as well as potential furloughs that could have been required to meet the cuts in spending, the Secret Service said.
Beyond White House tours, President Barack Obama's administration says on whitehouse.gov, "it is committed to making this the most open and participatory administration in history." The engagement page on the website offers ways to pose questions and comments and join online events with White House officials.
Lance said he is working with Republicans and Democrats to reverse the cancellation of White House tours and said he is "disappointed the White House has chosen to cut public tours at a cost-savings of $1 million while it continues to spend lavishly on other projects, such as expensive junkets, presidential golf outings and new uniforms for airport security agents."
"The planning for the possibility of sequestration has been under way for some time," he also says in his statement. "Consequently alternative spending reductions have been implemented within my congressional office to ensure public tours and other regular activities can proceed as they normally would.
"The White House should be expected to do the same."
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