[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 37 (Thursday, March 14, 2013)]
[House]
[Page H1404]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        OPEN THE PEOPLE'S HOUSE

  (Mr. JOHNSON of Ohio asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. JOHNSON of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, it was just over a week ago that we 
learned that the White House is being closed to public tours.
  Now the President attempts to justify this decision saying it's a 
Secret Service decision. I find this disturbingly ironic, coming from a 
President whose own Web site says that it is his mission to ``open up 
the House to as many people as possible,'' that he is accepting without 
objection the decision to prevent the American people from accessing 
the White House, their house, the people's house.
  Even during some of the darkest days of America's history, our 16th 
President, Abraham Lincoln, championed the policy of true open doors to 
the White House and governmental transparency. Contrast that with 
President Obama who is acquiescing to the exact opposite, closing the 
White House doors to the public.
  If the President is unable to help the Secret Service manage an 8.2 
percent budget cut and still keep the people's house open, then the 
American people are entitled to some answers from their Chief 
Executive.

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