The White House announced today that White House tours are being canceled effective Saturday, March 9, 2013 until further notice due to staffing reductions resulting from sequestration.
Sequestration, as you may know, is the term for the mandatory federal budget cuts that went into effect March 1 under the terms of a bipartisan budget law enacted in 2011. Under sequestration, federal agencies and offices are required to find ways to reduce unnecessary spending within their budgets, and to do more with less, as many American families are being forced to do in the current economy.
While I’m disappointed the White House has chosen to comply with sequestration by cutting public tours, I’m pleased to assure you that public tours of the United States Capitol will continue. Under the leadership of the House officers and their teams, who oversee daily operations in the Capitol in consultation with the Office of the Speaker, planning for the possibility of sequestration has been underway for some time. Consequently, alternative spending reductions have been implemented within the Capitol complex to ensure public tours and other regular activities can proceed as they normally would.
I encourage you and your family to visit the U.S. Capitol during your trip to Washington, D.C. If you haven’t already made arrangements through my office for a Capitol tour, I encourage you to do so. Simply contact [---------] in my congressional office at 202-225-6205 or email her at [-------]@mail.house.gov.
Sincerely,
John Boehner