Senate poised to vote on forcing WH to resume tours

[apples]

The Senate will vote Wednesday afternoon on whether to force the White House to start allowing public tours again — one of a series of high-profile showdowns senators have scheduled as they push to fund the government for the rest of the fiscal year.

President Obama canceled the tours earlier this month as one of the casualties of the budget sequesters, setting off a chorus of complaints from Congress and the public.

SEE RELATED: Obama suggests Secret Service at fault for shuttered White House tours

It will take 60 senators voting in favor to reopen the tours, but if it passes the Senate today it will almost certainly become law.

After days of stalemate, senators agreed to hold votes on the White House tours, on cutting off funding for political science research and on keeping meat plant inspections up and running in spite of the budget sequesters.

Congress is trying to pass the end-of-year funding before it leaves town for a two-week vacation. The House already passed its version of the bill, but senators had bogged down in fighting over what amendments they would even be allowed to vote on.

“We’re focused on all the wrong things because it’s all about the next election,” said Sen. Tom Coburn, the Oklahoma Republican who had fought to debate a number of amendments that would have cut spending and tried to rearrange the spending sequesters.

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[apples]

Senate votes to keep White House tours closed

Senators voted Wednesday to keep the White House closed to public tours, turning back a GOP-led effort to free up money to open the building back up after the sequesters.

The vote was just one of a series of high-profile votes the Senate was taking Wednesday afternoon as it plowed toward passage of a bill to fund the government through the rest of this fiscal year.

SEE RELATED: Obama suggests Secret Service at fault for shuttered White House tours

President Obama canceled the tours earlier this month as one of the casualties of the budget sequesters, setting off a chorus of complaints from Congress and the public.

Sen. Tom Coburn, Oklahoma Republican, offered an amendment to free up $8 million money to keep both the White House and several national parks open on their regular schedules. He proposed reclaiming money from national heritage areas elsewhere in the National Park Service budget.

But Democrats objected, saying it was a show vote that was note going to accomplish what Mr. Coburn said it would. They also said canceling

Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/mar/20/senate-poised-vote-forcing-wh-resume-tours/#ixzz2O7LQGXHn
Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter

[Stan In FL]

Obama closed "the people's" house to the people, but it remains open to lobbyists -- for a price.