[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 37 (Thursday, March 14, 2013)]
[House]
[Page H1417]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        OPEN THE PEOPLE'S HOUSE

  (Mr. STEWART asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. STEWART. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in defense of the common 
people of America--people who don't have annual vacations to Hawaii, 
people who don't fly to their vacations on private jets. Many of these 
families save for months or even years in order to visit Washington, 
D.C., and one of the things they expect to do when they come here is to 
be able to visit the White House, which is the people's House. And now 
this President has closed it in order to make a political point. Now 
that that decision has proven unpopular, he has done something that he 
has frequently done before and that is to blame someone else. He says 
it wasn't my decision; it was the Secret Service who made the decision 
to close the White House.
  It only costs the White House $3.7 million to keep it open to 
tourists for an entire year. That's much less than this President will 
spend on any single vacation that he takes, which is why I introduced a 
resolution in the House yesterday asking the President to forego any 
more taxpayer-funded vacations until he opens the people's House once 
again.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask the President to consider this request. Open the 
people's House, Mr. President. Open it up for the people of America.

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