[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 39 (Thursday, March 5, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H3028]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     STAFF-LED TOURS OF THE CAPITOL

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my deep 
concern about the difficulties Member offices are experiencing offering 
staff-led tours of the Capitol.
  As Chair of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee, I am 
fully committed to making sure Member offices can continue providing 
this important service to their constituents.
  The Capitol is not a museum. It is a living, breathing institution at 
the core of our representative democracy. Staff-led tours give our 
constituents a chance to experience the work that goes on here on a 
personalized level.
  When there was talk last year about eliminating staff-led tours, we 
made clear at our oversight hearings that preserving those tours should 
be one of the highest priorities for the Capitol Visitor Center. 
Reflecting that priority, we included a provision in last year's 
Legislative Branch Appropriations bill prohibiting the elimination of 
staff-led tours.
  However, preserving the existence of the tours and putting a button 
on the CVC Web site is simply not enough. We also need to make sure 
that the system in place doesn't diminish Member offices' ability to 
offer staff-led tours. Mr. Brady and I intend to work aggressively over 
the next few weeks to ensure that improvements to the system arrive 
before the peak visitor season hits.
  Staff who give tours should receive training, but we need to make 
sure that the time requirements make sense, that the training is 
consistent and effective, and that classes are offered frequently 
enough to meet Member office needs. We also need to make sure that we 
don't homogenize the Capitol tour and turn this beautiful institution 
into a museum.
  Staff-led tours offer something that guide-led tours cannot, a 
personalized experience that incorporates items of State and local 
interest. We need to make sure that we don't take that personal touch 
out of the tour process.
  We also need to make sure that Member offices are given clear 
information about how to accommodate their constituents if the on-line 
reservation system shows all the slots for a given day are taken.
  The CVC Web site and reservation system also could stand improvement, 
particularly standardizing the on-line process for booking staff-led 
tours so that you don't have to hunt and peck to figure out how to book 
one.
  I look forward to working with Mr. Brady and the authorizing 
committees on these issues so we can make the existing system more 
user-friendly, without compromising security or overloading the Capitol 
building.
  And I encourage and ask all Members if they have suggestions to 
please offer them to us.

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