After a two-year hiatus, tours of the White House are available starting tomorrow to all people requesting a tour through their member of Congress, according to White House spokesman Scott McClellan in a briefing.
This change will enable those who provide the required information to their representative or senator and who clear a security check to attend the tours. The tours will be available to groups of at least 10 people, according to the White House Web site.
The major change in tour procedure is that each person must submit their name, date of birth and Social Security Number to their member of Congress to request a tour. The names of tour candidates must pass a check through White House security.
Tours were previously available only to school groups, youth groups, U.S. military and veterans groups. Tours were limited to these groups for security reasons after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, White House spokesman Allen Abney said.
AU freshman Dana Tarley said it is understandable that the government is concerned about security, but "to deny the elderly and little kids the right to go on tours is a little over the top."
The expansion of the tours is due to changes in the security level of the building, according to Abney. Security levels are constantly monitored by White House officials and are subject to change.
"At this point, we are able to," Abney said.
Assessment of the building's security level is "a combined effort mainly [monitored by] the Secret Service," Abney said.
The Secret Service is also responsible for deciding whether to expand or restrict the availability of tours.
Abney said that visitors to the White House will tour the same area open to the public before the attacks. Specific security measures on the tours cannot be discussed, he said.
According to the White House Web site, "self-guided group tours will be scheduled approximately one month before the requested date." Tours can be requested up to six months in advance, the Web site said.
As for the tours returning to pre-Sept. 11 procedures, Allen said, "We continue to revise as we see fit. We could have changes in the future."
Tours will be offered Tuesdays through Saturdays, according to The Washington Post.
Tarley said she likes that this measure empowers representatives and encourages their constituents to contact them.
"But as a whole it's sending a message that we don't want to be sending," Tarley said.
Tarley described this message as a denial of what she considers a basic American right.
"We have the right to go see our monuments," she said, "and this is our pinnacle monument. If they were to do anything, they should use additional security inside the building and allow anyone to go on a tour."
Sophomore Kevin O'Donnell thinks the expansion of tours is a step in the right direction.
O'Donnell toured the White House once when he was in elementary school and said he would make use of the renewed opportunity.
"I'd definitely go on a tour," O'Donnell said. "I think it's a little unfortunate that we have to go through a congressman, but I think it's much better that they're allowing regular people to go on them again"
