Dear
Friends:
Because of the large number of requests for Congressional
tours of the White House, Pentagon, and the Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI), my office is issuing
this statement.
As of October 2001, the White House, Pentagon, and
Federal Bureau of Investigation have closed their
public and Congressional Tour programs indefinitely.
There are no exceptions to this rule. Our office is
not accepting reservations for these tours.
As of April 2002, the White House and Federal Bureau
of Investigations are offering a very limited number
of tours only for official school groups on official
school tours. School groups are defined as students
in grades 4 through 12 who are all enrolled in the
same school or school district. Individuals, children,
families, community groups, college groups, youth
groups, or other associations will not be considered
at this time. Please keep in mind that these criteria
are strictly enforced. Requests from groups who do
not meet these criteria will not be processed.
For school groups who meet this criteria and are
interested in tours, please contact our Washington
D.C. tour coordinator at (202)-224-2742. Please keep
in mind that our office needs a minimum of 5 weeks
notice to process your request. Please be aware that
no school tours are guaranteed until you receive confirmation
from our office.
The United States Capitol Guide Service, on the
advice of the United States Capitol Police, has altered
their tour policy as follows and their program may
be restricted at any time should changes become necessary.
Public tours are being offered on a limited basis.
The Capitol Guide Service will conduct tours from
10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday.
Tours will not be offered on Sunday or on holidays.
I strongly recommend that you obtain timed, reserved
tickets for a tour of the Capitol. These tickets are
handed out on a one ticket per person, first-come,
first-served basis starting at 9:00 a.m. Interested
parties should go to the East Front Plaza of the Capitol.
Tour lines will form in front of the East Front Plaza,
next to the East Front Screening Facility. At the
conclusion of the tour in the East Front Lobby, the
Capitol Guide Service will offer all visitors the
option of visiting the Senate or the House of Representatives
galleries if they are in session. The guides do not
carry gallery passes, so you must request the appropriate
number of passes from my office before your tour.
Please contact my tour coordinator to secure gallery
passes in advance of your visit. We would be happy
to mail these to you, or you may visit our office
in person when you arrive in Washington and pick up
your gallery passes at that time.
For additional security, the Capitol Police Board
has implemented new procedures effective December
8, 2001, regarding items that visitors will not be
permitted to bring in the Capitol. These prohibited
items include: aerosol and non-aerosol sprays, cans,
bottles, oversized suitcases, duffle bags, oversized
backpacks, knives of any length, razors, box cutters,
mace and pepper spray. The Capitol Police are authorized
to make exceptions, if a prohibited item is determined
to be necessary and required to serve child care,
medical or other special needs. Prior to your tour,
please feel free to leave your belongings in my office,
Room 304 of the Russell Senate Office Building.
In the past, my staff was able to escort constituents
from our office in the Russell Building to the Capitol
for tours. However, due to the aforementioned security
restrictions, all constituents must now pass through
the East Front Screening Facility before entering
the Capitol. Congressional staff are no longer allowed
to lead constituent tours in the Capitol as they always
have done in the past. Instead, staff members are
required to remain with groups as tour guides from
the Capitol Guide Service escort visitors through
the facility. We regret the inconvenience these new
security restrictions may cause and thank you for
your patience and understanding.
Thank you very much for your continued interest
in visiting our nation's capital. I hope that you
and your family enjoy the many sights that Washington
has to offer. Please feel free to contact Sarah Marks
of my staff at (202)-224-2742 for answers to any questions
you might have or for updates on tours of federal
offices.
Sincerely,
John F. Kerry
About this service
Whenever you visit our nation's capital, you may want
to take a tour of one of Washington D.C.'s many buildings
of great historical and national significance. If you're
a Massachusetts resident, Senator John Kerry can arrange
for you to go on a reserved tour of: |
To reserve your spot on a VIP tour, please address
all requests
(phone, letter, fax, etc.) to Tours Director in the
Washington, D.C. office or at this
e-mail. (Unlike ordering a flag, in which there
needs to be a monetary transaction, we can take your
request for tour tickets over the Internet.)
When writing or faxing your request, please include
the following information:
When making your tour requests, please include: |
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Your name, address and a day-time phone number (very
important) |
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A list of up to three (3) selected tours |
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Number of tickets needed for each site |
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Date(s) you will be available for tours (most tours
are in the early morning) |
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The ages of children, if any |
PLEASE NOTE:
Several federal offices have changed their tour policies recently
to reflect
the need for increased public safety. As
of October 2001, the White House,
FBI, and the Pentagon have suspended their tours indefinitely,
and all requests
for tours after September 2001 will not be honored.
My offices are currently
not able to accept reservations for these tours. We will resume
the
coordination of these tours when security restrictions have
been lifted.
The United States Capitol Guide Service,
on the advice of the United States
Capitol Police, has altered their tour policy as follows
and their program may
be restricted at any time should changes become necessary.
Public tours are being offered on a
limited basis. The Capitol Guide
Service will conduct tours from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.,
Monday through
Saturday. Tours will not be offered on Sunday or on holidays.
Tour lines will
form in front of the East Front Plaza, next to the East
Front Screening
Facility. At the conclusion of the tour in the East Front
Lobby, the Capitol
Guide Service will offer all visitors the option of visiting
the Senate or the
House of Representatives galleries if they are in session.
The guides do not
carry gallery passes, so you must request the appropriate
number of passes from
my office before your tour. Please contact my tour coordinator
to secure
gallery passes in advance of your visit. We would be happy
to mail these to
you, or you may visit our office in person when you arrive
in Washington and
pick up your gallery passes at that time.
For additional security, the Capitol Police
Board has implemented new
procedures effective December 8, 2001, regarding items that
visitors will not be
permitted to bring in the Capitol. These prohibited items
include: aerosol and
non-aerosol sprays, cans, bottles, oversized suitcases,
duffle bags, oversized
backpacks, knives of any length, razors, box cutters, mace
and pepper spray.
The Capitol Police are authorized to make exceptions, if
a prohibited item is
determined to be necessary and required to serve child care,
medical or other
special needs. Prior to your tour, please feel free to leave
your belongings in
my office, Room 304 of the Russell Senate Office Building.
In the past, my staff was able to escort
constituents from our office in the
Russell Building to the Capitol for tours. However, due
to the aforementioned
security restrictions, all constituents must now pass through
the East Front
Screening Facility before entering the Capitol. Congressional
staff are no
longer allowed to lead constituent tours in the Capitol
as they always have
done in the past. Instead, staff members are required to
remain with groups as
tour guides from the Capitol Guide Service escort visitors
through the facility.
We regret the inconvenience these new security restrictions
may cause and thank
you for your patience and understanding.
Thank you very much for your continued interest
in visiting our nation’s
capital. I hope that you and your family enjoy the many
sights that Washington
has to offer. Please feel free to contact
Sarah Marks of my staff at
(202)-224-2742 for answers to any questions you might have
or for updates on
tours of federal offices.
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