[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 67 (Tuesday, May 14, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5011-S5014]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         SENATE RESOLUTION 254--RELATIVE TO PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE

  Mr. GRAMS submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on Governmental Affairs:

                              S. Res. 254

       Resolved,

     SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

       The Senate makes the following findings:
       (1) In 1791, President George Washington commissioned 
     Pierre Charles L'Enfant to draft a blueprint for America's 
     capital city; 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.
       (2) 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''.
       (3) 1600 Pennsylvania, the White House, has become 
     America's most recognized address and a primary destination 
     of visitors to the Nation's Capital; ``the People's House'' 
     is host to 5,000 tourist daily, and 15,000,000 annually.
       (4) 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 their 
     government.
       (5) On May 20, 1995, citing possible security risks from 
     vehicles transporting terrorist bombs, President Clinton 
     ordered the Treasury Department and the Secret Service to 
     close Pennsylvania Avenue to vehicular traffic for two blocks 
     in front of the White House.
       (6) 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.
       (7) In the year following the closure of Pennsylvania 
     Avenue, the taxpayers have borne a tremendous burden for 
     additional security measures along the Avenue near the White 
     House.
       (8) While the security of the President 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; the present situation is 
     tilted far too heavily toward security at freedom's expense.

     SEC. 2 SENSE OF THE SENATE.

       It is the sense of the Senate that the President should 
     order the immediate, permanent reopening to vehicular traffic 
     of Pennsylvania in front of the White House, restoring the 
     Avenue to its original state and returning it to the People.

  Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, in just 6 days, the closing of Pennsylvania 
Avenue in front of the White House will mark its 1-year anniversary.
  I rise today to speak for the 15 million tourists who visit the 
Nation's Capital each year, the local businessmen and women whose 
livelihoods depend upon open access, the government of the District of 
Columbia, the commuters who rely on our roads, and the people who call 
Washington, DC, home. On their behalf, I am submitting a resolution 
expressing the sense of the Senate that Pennsylvania Avenue be reopened 
to traffic and returned to its historic use. The May 20th closing is 
one anniversary we should not have to commemorate.
  This resolution has the support of many with strong ties to the 
Washington community. I am grateful to have the endorsement of District 
of Columbia Mayor Marion Barry, and I am also proud that D.C. Council 
Chairman David Clarke and Councilmember Frank Smith support this 
effort. I ask unanimous consent that statements from Mayor Barry and 
Chairman Clarke and Councilmember Smith be included in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  (See exhibit 1.)
  Mr. GRAMS. In addition, my resolution has the strong support of more 
than a dozen of the area's residential, business, and historical 
organizations representing thousands of job providers and the 
District's half million residents. I ask unanimous consent to submit 
this list and supporting letters for printing in the Record.
  Mr. President, I have come to the floor several times over the past 
year to voice my concerns about the closure of Pennsylvania Avenue.
  I have talked about the damage it has done to Washington's business 
community, and the fear that it is scaring off new jobs and prompting 
potential retail and commercial tenants to stay away from the downtown 
area. I have talked about the damage it has done to Washington's 
business community, and the fear that it's scaring off new jobs and 
prompting potential retail and commercial tenants to stay away from the 
downtown area. I have discussed the hardships caused by the closing for 
anyone whose paycheck depends on access to the avenue, people like cab 
drivers and tour bus operators. I have outlined problem after problem 
the closing has created for the District itself, which had one of its 
major arteries unilaterally severed by the Federal Government without 
any consultation. I have discussed the inconvenience of our tourists, 
especially the elderly and disabled, many of whom are now being 
deprived of a close look at the White House. And I have talked about 
the tremendous cost for the taxpayers, a cost which has already reached 
into the millions of dollars.
  I have raised each of those aspects of the closing because they are 
all relevant and pressing concerns. But that is not what I want to 
discuss today. There is another side to this issue that is easy to 
overlook amid all the other more obvious problems: the question of what 
the closing of Pennsylvania Avenue has done to the psyche of this city, 
and what we give up when we give in to fear.
  The air was thick with fear in the weeks following April 19, 1995, 
when terrorists attacked the Federal building in Oklahoma City. How 
could something like this happen within our own borders, people 
wondered. And fear took hold. That was certainly the atmosphere in 
Washington--an atmosphere of suspicion and distrust that prompted the 
Treasury Department to close down two blocks of Pennsylvania Avenue a 
month after the tragic Oklahoma City bombing.
  Now, obviously, protecting the President and those who work and visit 
the White House must be a primary concern, a matter never to be taken 
lightly. The occupant of the Oval Office deserves every reasonable 
measure of security we can provide. So if the Secret Service had 
information that the White House was a terrorist target and the 
President was in danger, then it was absolutely prudent at the time to 
close Pennsylvania Avenue.
  But that was an entire year ago, and a decision that may have 
appeared prudent then strikes many as regrettable and short-sighted 
today. Rather than helping the Nation face down our fear, the 
Government's decision to close Pennsylvania Avenue--and keep it 
closed--has only perpetuated it.
  This is the White House today. Not a pretty sight, is it? The stretch 
of Pennsylvania Avenue that stood for 195 years as ``America's Main 
Street'' is empty of any traffic--more a vacant lot than a working 
street.

[[Page S5012]]

  Gone is the thrill for visitors of driving by the White House for the 
first time--the concrete barricades, traffic sawhorses, and ever-
present patrol vehicles and armed officers have put an end to that.
  Gone, too, is the sense of openness that inspired generations of 
visitors to feel close to the Presidency and their Government when they 
visited the Executive Mansion.
  Today, there is an ominous atmosphere at the White House that you 
feel nowhere else in Washington. Visitors seem more to be tolerated 
than welcomed, and the fortress-like effect they discover there is 
unnerving.
  I have no doubt that the place is secure--as secure as a bunker. But 
the price we have paid for all this security is immense because it has 
come at the expense of freedom.
  Was it not Benjamin Franklin who warned against ``giving up essential 
liberty to obtain a little temporary safety''? And liberty is precisely 
what we have given up by closing off Pennsylvania Avenue.
  While we may have obtained some temporary safety, we have surrendered 
to fear in order to get it, even though one of the first lessons we 
teach our young people in their American history classes is that 
freedom cannot coexist with fear.
   Mr. President, a visit to the Nation's capital can have a profound 
impact on the schoolchildren who visit here every year. It is a place 
where history comes alive, and every monument, museum, and historic 
site they visit is a page right out of the textbooks.
  The feeling they get by being immersed in history can not be 
duplicated in a classroom, and I know that a trip to Washington, DC has 
inspired many, many young people to seek careers in public service.
  But how confused they must be when they visit the White House. Before 
travelling here, they have studied the Revolutionary War.
  They have read the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. 
Constitution. They have been taught that the foundation upon which this 
Nation was built was our absolute right to be free from oppression. It 
is that freedom, we tell them--a freedom we hold sacred, and treasure 
above all else--that makes this Nation so different from any other.
  So what do you suppose goes through their minds when they at last 
visit the home of their President and find it barricaded behind all 
that concrete?
  The preamble to the Constitution, with its talk of securing the 
blessings of liberty, must ring awfully hollow if this is what liberty 
really looks like.
  What lesson are we teaching them about the freedom we claim to value 
so highly? What kind of message are we sending our children when they 
discover that the very center of the free world is not so very free 
after all?
  I can tell you what they are thinking. I visit the White House two or 
three times a month, and I have heard their comments and seen the 
disappointment in their faces. They tell me it is shameful, it is 
disappointing, and it is wrong.
  If there is a compelling reason to keep Pennsylvania Avenue 
permanently closed, I hope someone will step forward and make their 
case. I have been asking the question for nearly a year now, and have 
not yet heard a reasonable answer.
  The monetary cost of shutting Pennsylvania Avenue down has been 
enormous Mr. President, but the emotional cost of keeping it closed 
forever would be devasting.
  We may only be talking about two, short blocks, but those two blocks 
have represented freedom and access since nearly the birth of this 
Nation.
  While we must never allow ourselves to become reckless about our 
security, it is equally true that we must never allow ourselves to 
become reckless about our freedom, either, especially when freedom is 
represented by such a visible symbol as the White House.
  The way Pennsylvania Avenue looks today, well, that is just not the 
America, envisioned by our Founding Fathers. It is certainly not the 
America John Kennedy spoke of in his 1961 inaugural address:

       Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, 
     that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any 
     hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to 
     assure the survival and success of liberty.

  That resolve may have softened on Pennsylvania Avenue, but it is not 
too late to rekindle that spirit.
  I believe that good sense will prevail and the avenue will reopen. 
And someday, Mr. President, when they are old enough to appreciate what 
it all means, I will take my grandchildren to the White House.
  I will show them the home of the Presidents--great leaders like 
Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln, who defined liberty for a young 
Nation and ensured that this would forever be a place where freedom 
could flourish.
  And when they realized that the President lives in a house just like 
they do, along a street a lot like theirs, my grandchildren will smile.
  Castles and kings require moats and crocodiles, but Presidents, well, 
they make their homes in houses, set on busy streets, in the hearts of 
busy cities. Open and accessible. And that is just the way Presidents 
ought to live.
  My grandchildren may not understand just what liberty and freedom 
really mean, but they will feel its powerful presence and I hope they 
will be inspired.
  There are a thousand good reasons to reopen Pennsylvania Avenue, Mr. 
President, but only one reason I can see for keeping it closed, and 
that is fear. We cannot allow fear to claim this victory.
  We cannot allow the 1-year anniversary of the closing of Pennsylvania 
Avenue to pass without this Senate taking a stand on the side of 
freedom.
  I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

     We Support the Senate Resolution Calling For The Reopening of 
            Pennsylvania Avenue In Front of the White House

       District of Columbia Mayor Marion Barry.
       D.C. Council Chairman David A. Clarke.
       D.C. Councilmember Frank Smith.
       AAA Potomac.
       American Bus Association.
       Apartment and Office Building Association of Metropolitan 
     Washington, Inc.
       Association of Oldest Inhabitants of D.C.
       District of Columbia Building Industry Association.
       District of Columbia Preservation League.
       DuPont Circle Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2B.
       Federation of Citizens Association.
       Frontiers of Freedom.
       Greater Washington Board of Trade.
       International Downtown Association.
       Arthur Cotton Moore Associates.
       Washington Cab Association.
       Washington D.C. Historical Society.
       Washington D.C. Restaurant and Beverage Association.
                                                                    ____



                                     The District of Columbia,

                                     Washington, DC, May 13, 1996.
     Hon. Rod Grams,
     Dirksen Senate Office Building,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Grams: I want to thank you for your continued 
     interest in the closing of Pennsylvania Avenue and the impact 
     it has had on the District of Columbia. The effects on 
     traffic patterns and drivers' convenience, business income, 
     parking revenue, and most important, public access to the 
     White House, have all been significant.
       I hope that your legislation expressing the sense of the 
     Senate that Pennsylvania Avenue be reopened in front of the 
     White House can be approved. I would appreciate your 
     conveying my support for such legislation to your colleagues.
       Please contact me or my staff if you have any questions or 
     requests that I can help with. Again, thank you for your 
     understanding and appreciation of the consequences of the 
     blockades.
           Sincerely,
                                                Marion Barry, Jr.,
     Mayor.
                                                                    ____


      Statement of D.C. Council Chairman David A. Clarke and D.C. 
                       Councilmember Frank Smith

       We wholeheartedly support and applaud the effort by Senator 
     Rod Grams and others to reopen Pennsylvania Avenue in front 
     of the White House to vehicular traffic--and thereby restore 
     this most public of public streets to its historic use.
       District of Columbia residents, businesses and visitors 
     have suffered for one year with the constant traffic 
     gridlock, uncompensated economic costs, and loss of freedom 
     from this vehicular barricade between the east and west ends 
     of America's historic main street and our downtown. We call 
     upon the federal government to pay for the entire cost of 
     identifying and mitigating every adverse impact which has 
     resulted from the federal government's vehicular restrictions 
     in the economic and historic heart of the nation's capital.
       In July 1995 the Council of the District of Columbia 
     unanimously adopted a resolution expressing concerns about 
     the restriction of vehicular access to streets around the 
     White House, which now also applies to restrictions

[[Page S5013]]

     placed upon other streets around certain Congressional and 
     other federal buildings in Washington. Appended to this 
     statement is the full text of the resolution which we co-
     authored.
                                                                    ____

                                            The Greater Washington


                                               Board of Trade,

                                     Washington, DC, May 13, 1996.
     Hon. Rod Grams,
     U.S. Senate, Senate Dirksen Office Building, Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Grams: On behalf of the Greater Washington 
     Board of Trade's membership, I applaud your efforts to reopen 
     the 1600 block of Pennsylvania Avenue and offer whatever 
     assistance this organization might provide. As a 
     representative of over 1,000 businesses located in the 
     greater Washington region, we have heard from many of our 
     members about the impact that the street closing has had on 
     their businesses. In short, the closing of Pennsylvania 
     Avenue, paired with the closing of the parallel section of E 
     Street between 15th and 17th Streets, has resonated 
     throughout the District of Columbia's road system. The 
     resulting gridlock is, at best, impeding the mobility of 
     business people, residents and tourists.
       Of even greater concern is the likelihood that this is just 
     the beginning of an imposing security trend; already we have 
     heard rumors that additional street closings will occur 
     Street closings cannot be an appropriate solution to security 
     concerns; rather, they are nothing more than a ``cure by 
     amputation.'' Already, the Pennsylvania Avenue experiment has 
     demonstrated the crippling effect such a policy has on 
     traffic flow, and additional street closings would further 
     exacerbate the difficulty of doing business in the District 
     of Columbia.
       In your April 29th letter to President Clinton, you cite 
     the rich history of Pennsylvania Avenue as ``America's Main 
     Street'' and its symbolism of freedom, openness and access to 
     government. But equally important are the more direct 
     economic impacts that the street closing has imposed on the 
     operation of the District of Columbia. Traffic on surrounding 
     streets has reportedly increased far beyond capacity, despite 
     efforts by the local government and the Federal Highway 
     Administration to create one way corridors traveling east and 
     west to improve traffic flow. And while rush hour traffic has 
     always been difficult, travel times across the downtown 
     business district have more than doubled even during the 
     mid-day hours.
       Although many people consider Washington, DC to be only the 
     home of the federal government, the City has a significant 
     private sector community. A large number of those businesses 
     are service oriented, requiring them to remain accessible to 
     clients and customers. Thus, the closing of Pennsylvania 
     Avenue is creating a hardship on the city's private sector, 
     and in many cases, forcing them to reconsider whether they 
     must relocate their operation outside of the District. In a 
     city that is struggling to cope with dwindling revenues and 
     the skyrocketing costs of human services, this is just one 
     more factor contributing to the problems faced by the local 
     government, the Congressionally appointed financial control 
     board, and inevitably, the Congress in its role as steward of 
     the Nation's Capital.
       The business community recognizes that the safety of the 
     President of the United States must be the top priority in 
     decisions such as these. We believe, however that there may 
     be more appropriate alternatives that would sufficiently 
     mitigate potential security risks without shutting down the 
     Nation's Capital piece by piece.
       A decision to reopen Pennsylvania Avenue would go a long 
     way to toward restoring mobility in the Nation's Capital. 
     This is important to the people who live and work here every 
     day, but it is also important to the millions of visitors who 
     come from all 50 states. Should there be a decision to 
     revisit the closing of Pennsylvania Avenue, the Greater 
     Washington Board of Trade would be happy to work with 
     Congress, the Executive Branch and the local government to 
     identify more realistic options for improving security in the 
     Nation's Capital. Thank you for your efforts.
           Sincerely,
     Joseph T. Boyle,
                                         Chair, KPMG Peat Marwick.
     John Milliken,
     Chair, Venable, Baetjer and Howard.
                                                                    ____

                                              District of Columbia


                                Building Industry Association,

                                      Washington, DC, May 6, 1996.
     Hon. William J. Clinton,
     President of the United States,
     The White House, Washington, DC.
       Dear President Clinton: I am writing to you in my capacity 
     as president of the District of Columbia Building Industry 
     Association. Our Association represents several thousand 
     business people in the District of Columbia.
       It has been almost one year since the executive order of 
     the Secretary of the Treasury was issued restricting traffic 
     on Pennsylvania Avenue, State Place and Executive Avenue. We 
     understand that this was a very difficult directive for you 
     to sign and that you had resisted several efforts by the 
     Secret Service to restrict traffic in the vicinity of the 
     White House in the past. While we in the Washington, D.C. 
     business community were concerned about the process whereby 
     this major traffic conduit was closed, the business community 
     and citizens generally did not object to this action given 
     the circumstances at that time.
       In the past year, we have had time to experience the 
     results of this action and feel it is time to reexamine this 
     situation. Of course, your safety and the safety of the First 
     Family and your staff are of paramount importance to all of 
     us as citizens of the United States. However, the rerouting 
     of traffic around the White House has resulted in serious 
     traffic congestion on a daily basis, and exacerbated traffic 
     problems during special events which are constant in 
     Washington, DC, such as the Cherry Blossom Festival. 
     Moreover, it has divided our city into an East and a West 
     side causing both commerce and tourism to suffer negative 
     economic consequences at the same time they are impacted by 
     the City's debilitating fiscal crisis. These combined 
     circumstances have had a disastrous effect on business and 
     trade in DC.
       While the emergency temporary restriction of traffic on 
     these streets was warranted by the unique circumstances at 
     that time, we do not feel this should be viewed and accepted 
     as the long term solution to these security issues. Right 
     now, there is a team of architects employed by the U.S. 
     Government meeting to discuss alternatives for closing 
     Pennsylvania Avenue prior to the official, legal closing of 
     the street itself. We believe that alternative methods to 
     provide long term improved security to the White House, such 
     as structural reinforcements, improved fencing, electronic 
     surveillance, limited traffic on adjacent streets to cars 
     only, etc. should be reconsidered now. These alternatives may 
     actually be more economical than the closing of these streets 
     and certainly will be less costly in terms of diminished 
     national prestige.
       With the end of the Cold War five years ago, our country is 
     more secure than at any time in this century. Since this time 
     of relative peace is due in large part to American 
     leadership, it is truly ironic that symbolically we are 
     retreating by further limiting access to and around the White 
     House. One could only imagine the outcry by Parisians if the 
     French Government closed the Champs-Elysees in front of the 
     Presidential Palace. Washingtonians have been very patient 
     and understanding with the temporary closing of Pennsylvania 
     Avenue, the most important street in the L'Enfant Plan. But 
     now is the time to search for a better long term solution.
       Just as we are sure you would reject suggestions that you 
     limit your personal interaction with the American people such 
     as your daily jogging, town meetings and other high-risk 
     interactions with the public, we urge you to reconsider this 
     highly visible statement to the American people and 
     international tourists and reopen Pennsylvania Avenue.
       So while we fully support the temporary measures taken by 
     your administration to restrict traffic around the White 
     House, we urge you to set up a task force to find alternate 
     means of providing adequate security for the White House with 
     the ultimate goal of reopening these streets by Inauguration 
     Day 1997. Our Association is prepared to participate in this 
     task force and provide whatever resources are necessary in 
     order to accomplish this goal.
           Sincerely yours.
                                                 Thomas W. Wilbur,
     President.
                                                                    ____

                                              District of Columbia


                                Building Industry Association,

                                      Washington, DC, May 9, 1996.
     Re Closure of a Section of Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., 
         Secretary of the Treasury's Order dated May 19, 1995.
     Hon. Robert E. Rubin,
     Secretary, Department of the Treasury, Washington, DC.
       Dear Secretary Rubin: I am writing to you in my capacity as 
     Chairman of the Legislative and Governmental Affairs 
     Committee of the District of Columbia Building Industry 
     Association (``DCBIA'').
       For your information, DCBIA is comprised of over 275 member 
     organizations and over 1,000 individuals ranging from 
     lenders, property owners, developers, property managers, 
     construction companies, contractors, subcontractors, 
     architects, engineers, lawyers, accountants, and others 
     involved in the real estate industry. In other words, those 
     who finance, own, develop, renovate, upgrade, improve and 
     manage real property in the District, together with all of 
     the providers of the additional services necessary to the 
     real estate industry.
       May 19, 1996 will mark the first anniversary of your 
     directive to the Director of the United States Secret Service 
     to close a portion of Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. and certain 
     other streets. This emergency, temporary directive was 
     intended to enhance the perimeter security of the White 
     House. Under applicable federal law, your authority to 
     prohibit vehicular traffic on public streets is temporary in 
     nature, and is predicated on certain findings of fact which 
     must be applicable at the time of the initial directive and 
     at all times thereafter while the directive remains in 
     effect.
       DCBIA believes that now is an appropriate time to undertake 
     a number of endeavors, including but not limited to, 
     reexamining the factual determinations of one year ago, 
     confirming that the Department of the Treasury is in 
     compliance with the requirements of the National 
     Environmental Policy Act, the Advisory Council on Historic 
     Preservation, the Department of Transportation's Federal 
     Highway Administration, the Department of

[[Page S5014]]

     the Interior's Comprehensive Design Plan for the White House, 
     the National Park Service, the National Capital Planning 
     Commission, and all other applicable local and Federal 
     requirements.
       Now is also an appropriate time to reexamine the economic, 
     physical and psychological impact of the street closures on 
     the many thousands of American citizens that have had to bear 
     the direct and immediate impact of your directive. Some of 
     these people travel to the Nation's capital daily for their 
     jobs and businesses, while others are visitors from places 
     near and far. All of them have shared the serious and 
     significant delays, detours and related problems of the 
     street closures. The serious negative impact upon the local 
     business community has become difficult if not impossible to 
     accurately assess. The directive has simply divided our city 
     to the detriment of all, and has fostered a ``bunker 
     mentality'' among the citizens of the city, many of whom 
     observe, on a daily basis, the barricades, uniformed Secret 
     Service personnel and similar indicia of a city under siege 
     directly in front of the Presidential residence.
       DCBIA wishes to be absolutely clear on the issue of the 
     safety of the President and the First Family. It is not a 
     question of whether or not any of us doubt the supreme 
     importance of protecting the President of the United States. 
     We assert emphatically that the security of the President is 
     and should be of profound importance to every American 
     citizen, and every person who loves freedom and democracy. 
     But at the same time, the directive issued in the name of 
     safety and security is quite simply killing the city. When 
     people cannot move freely and easily it impacts productivity 
     and commerce. But the impact does not stop there. Eventually 
     there are psychological and spiritual effects that are no 
     less real or important. The District of Columbia cannot 
     afford to make it more difficult than it already is to work, 
     play and live here. The directive issued almost one year ago 
     is doing just that.
       DCBIA urges you and your staff, in conjunction with other 
     public officials, to reopen the entire issue of the street 
     closures for full and fair consideration. DCBIA seeks to be 
     an active participant in this process and is committed to 
     using its resources to help reopen Pennsylvania Avenue.
       We look forward to your response and appreciate having this 
     opportunity to raise this matter with you.
           Sincerely,

                                             Nelson F. Migdal,

                                Chairman, Legislative/Governmental
     Affairs Committee.

                          ____________________