Last White House Tour: Sequester Cuts Sadden Washington Tourists (VIDEO) | HuffPost - Action News
Home WebMail Tuesday, November 5, 2024, 07:46 AM | Calgary | 0.2°C | Regions Advertise Login | Our platform is in maintenance mode. Some URLs may not be available. |
  • No news available at this time.
Posted: 2013-03-08T20:51:22Z | Updated: 2013-03-08T20:54:12Z Last White House Tour: Sequester Cuts Sadden Washington Tourists (VIDEO) | HuffPost

Last White House Tour: Sequester Cuts Sadden Washington Tourists (VIDEO)

Tour-niquet: Flow Of Tourists Soon To Stop Through White House

A few dozen visitors went to the White House on Friday for what may prove to be the final spin through the presidential palace on the government's dime.

The Obama administration has warned that budget cuts imposed under sequestration will force it to halt tours indefinitely, ending a tradition that tourists have enjoyed for decades. A spokesman for the White House said during a press briefing on Friday, "You've heard both the president and the first lady talk about the value of the White House as the people's house. There are hundreds of thousands of people who come through the White House ... on a yearly basis. ... It is a shame that because of the sequester those tours will not longer take place."

The Huffington Post stopped by the White House to ask visitors what they thought of the tour, and whether its impending demise had affected their views of the sequester fight.

WATCH the video above to see visitors react to the possible end of White House tours.

Congressional Republicans have widely mocked Obama's tour hiatus, with Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) even penning an amendment to budget legislation that would ban the president from golfing until tours resume. Tours may well do so in the near-future, but only if other cuts -- including, potentially, the elimination of jobs held by federal workers -- are implemented.

Your Support Has Never Been More Critical

Other news outlets have retreated behind paywalls. At HuffPost, we believe journalism should be free for everyone.

Would you help us provide essential information to our readers during this critical time? We can't do it without you.

Support HuffPost