[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 54 (Thursday, April 26, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E658]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                      RE-OPEN PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CONSTANCE A. MORELLA

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 26, 2001

  Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, nearly six years ago, Treasury Secretary 
Robert Rubin ordered Pennsylvania Avenue closed to vehicular traffic in 
front of the White House. The Secretary did so with the powers granted 
to him as head of the Secret Service, which allow him to 
``temporarily'' shut down any road in the District of Columbia to 
protect Presidential safety.
  As anyone who has been stuck in the gridlock while trying to drive 
across town certainly knows, that ``temporary'' blockade still exists. 
And it exists much to the detriment of our nation's capital, where 
unsightly concrete barriers make us look like a city under siege, as 
well as to the detriment of the city of Washington, D.C., which has 
suffered serious economic consequences as a result.
  It's high time to re-open Pennsylvania Avenue and return Pierre 
L'Enfant's grand boulevard--America's Main Street--to its proper role 
as an uninterrupted link between the White House and the Congress and 
as a vital east-west artery for the District of Columbia.
  The National Capital Planning Commission is now evaluating what 
impact the security measures around the White House, the national 
memorials and Federal buildings have on our nation's capital. The first 
subject they will be tackling is Pennsylvania Avenue, and the 
Commission expects to make a recommendation on the Avenue to the 
President by July.
  I am today introducing a Sense of the House resolution urging the 
Commission to adopt a plan that restores vehicular traffic--and, with 
it, a sense of democratic openness--to Pennsylvania Avenue.
  I do so with the support of Eleanor Holmes Norton and other members 
of the local congressional delegation--Tom Davis and Jim Moran--and 
other colleagues who share our concern about the closure of one of 
America's most famous avenues. D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams and the City 
Council are fully behind our efforts to re-open the Avenue as well.
  To be sure, the security of the President remains paramount to us. 
But we cannot build a glass bubble around the White House. I am 
convinced there are prudent steps we can take--including slightly 
reconfiguring the road and using pedestrian bridges to block truck 
traffic from the stretch of Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White 
House--that will allow us to re-open the road while protecting those 
who live, work and visit the White House.

                          ____________________