White House Re-Opens For Public Tours On Tuesday

Washington, DC â??With the announcement from the White House last week that it will re-open for public tours beginning tomorrow, September 16th, Idaho Senator Mike Crapo reminds Idahoans who plan to visit the nationâ??s capital over the next year to plan in advance. Crapo says that updated and more restrictive tour policies by the White House mean that there will no longer be a general public distribution of tickets, but all tour requests now must go through a Member of Congress.â??It is great that the White House has finally re-opened for public tours,â?? Crapo said. â??It has taken some time to come up with a plan that satisfies security concerns, and it is unfortunate that there is no longer a public distribution of tickets. But once again, the residence will be open for tours and I am pleased that my office can assist Idahoans in visiting this historic landmark. Tours can be requested up to six months in advance. I hope that we can continue to work on opening other D.C. landmarks that have been closed for the last couple of years so that Idahoans visiting Washington, D.C. will have the opportunity to visit them as well.â??To arrange a tour, please contact Crapoâ??s D.C. office at (202) 224-6142 or submit a request through the web site at http://crapo.senate.gov. The web site also contains some frequently asked questions about the new tour policies. The updated White House tour policies include the following:·Tours must be parties of ten or larger, and must be submitted through a Member of Congress. As such, Crapoâ??s office will try to group together requests that have fewer than ten people.·Tour requests may be submitted up to six months in advance.·Tours will be scheduled Tuesday through Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 11: 30 a.m.·All tour participants over the age of 14 must provide their full name, date of birth, Social Security number, and country of origin with the tour request. Those under 14 must provide their full name, date of birth, and country of origin. Those over 15 will be required to present photo identification before admittance.·Prohibited items include, but are not limited to, handbags, bookbags, backpacks, purses, food and beverages, strollers, cameras, video recorders or any type of recording device, tobacco products, personal grooming items, any pointed objects (pens, knitting needles, etc.), aerosol containers, guns, ammunition, fireworks, electric stun guns, mace, martial arts weapons/device, or knives of any size (including pocket knives).# # #