[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 458 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 458

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the President 
should request the Department of the Treasury and the Secret Service to 
work with the Government of the District of Columbia to develop a plan 
for the permanent reopening to vehicular traffic of Pennsylvania Avenue 
   in front of the White House in order to restore the Avenue to its 
              original state and return it to the people.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 20, 1996

  Ms. Norton (for herself, Mr. Davis, Mr. LaTourette, and Mr. Moran) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
                   on Government Reform and Oversight

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the President 
should request the Department of the Treasury and the Secret Service to 
work with the Government of the District of Columbia to develop a plan 
for the permanent reopening to vehicular traffic of Pennsylvania Avenue 
   in front of the White House in order to restore the Avenue to its 
              original state and return it to the people.

Whereas in 1791, President George Washington commissioned Pierre Charles 
        L'Enfant to draft a blueprint for America's new capital city, and they 
        envisioned Pennsylvania Avenue as a bold, ceremonial boulevard 
        physically linking the U.S. Capitol building and the White House, and 
        symbolically the legislative and executive branches of government;
Whereas as an integral element of the District of Columbia, Pennsylvania Avenue 
        stood for 195 years as a vital, working, unbroken roadway, elevating it 
        into a place of national importance as ``America's Main Street'';
Whereas 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the White House, has become America's most 
        recognized address and a primary destination of visitors to the Nation's 
        capital, and ``the People's House'' is host to 5,000 tourists daily, and 
        15,000,000 annually;
Whereas as home to the President, and given its prominent location on 
        Pennsylvania Avenue and its proximity to the people, the White House has 
        become a powerful symbol of freedom, openness, and an individual's 
        access to government;
Whereas on May 20, 1995, citing possible security risks from vehicles 
        transporting terrorist bombs, President Clinton ordered the Secret 
        Service, in conjunction with the Department of the Treasury, to close 
        Pennsylvania Avenue to vehicular traffic for two blocks in front of the 
        White House;
Whereas while the security of the President and visitors to the White House is 
        of grave concern and is not to be taken lightly, the need to assure the 
        President's safety must be balanced with the expectation of freedom 
        inherent in a democracy, and the present situation is tilted too heavily 
        toward security at freedom's expense;
Whereas by impeding access and imposing undue hardships upon tourists, residents 
        of the District, commuters, and local business owners and their 
        customers, the closure of Pennsylvania Avenue, undertaken without the 
        counsel of the government of the District of Columbia, has replaced the 
        former openness of the area surrounding the White House with barricades, 
        additional security checkpoints, and an atmosphere of fear and distrust; 
        and
Whereas in the year following the closure of Pennsylvania Avenue, the taxpayers 
        have borne a significant burden for additional security measures along 
        the Avenue near the White House: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that 
the President should request the Department of the Treasury and the 
Secret Service to work with the Government of the District of Columbia 
to develop a plan for the permanent reopening to vehicular traffic of 
Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House in order to restore the 
Avenue to its original state and return it to the people, so long as 
the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secret Service certify that the 
plan protects the security of the people who live and work in the White 
House.
                                 <all>