WASHINGTON, March 13 (UPI) — The U.S. Secret Service made the decision to cancel White House tours, President Obama said in an interview broadcast Wednesday.
Obama talked to George Stephanopoulos of ABC News. He said the Secret Service — whose responsibilities include guarding the president, his family and the White House — did not consult the administration but decided potential furloughs because of the automatic budget cuts known as the sequester meant the personnel was not available to allow the tours.
The estimated cost of public tours of the White House is $74,000 a week with total savings through September of about $2 million.
The president said he was trying to get exceptions for special circumstances.
“Well, what I’m asking them is are there ways, for example, for us to accommodate school groups — you know, who may have traveled here with some bake sales,” he said. “Can we make sure that kids, potentially, can still come to tour?
“I’m always amused when people on the one hand say the sequester doesn’t mean anything and the administration’s exaggerating its effects, and then whatever the specific effects are, they yell and scream and say, ‘Why are you doing that?’ Well, there are consequences to Congress not having come up with a more sensible way to reduce the deficit,” Obama said.
Copyright 2013 United Press International, Inc. (UPI).
Not long ago, a friend showed me a letter from his benefit plan saying that the President issued an order to cut unemployment and sickness payments by 9.2% because of Sequestration.
That benefit plan is not even part of the U.S. budget, and uses no taxpayers funds. Well outside the jurisdiction of the Executive Branch.
Yes, scare tactics.
Well, there are consequences to Congress not having come up with a more sensible way to reduce the deficit,” Obama said.
This guy being president are the consequences we will all pay for many, many life-times to come.
Will his food taster be furloughed as a result of the sequester?
Sickastupid your the problem Demmocraps like you wasting our money on them scum. We got too damn many people thats the problem. To bad most that welfare scum over to Wal Mart dont starve.
This is another lie from the anointed one. Even Jay Carney his press Sec, said it was a White house decision. The secrete service can’t make this decision. 1 less round of golf from the president would fund the White House tours for a year. This is bull crap coming out of Obama’s mouth. He is throwing a fit for not getting his way and is punishing the American people for it for no reason.
Let’s just keep arguing about the placement of the deck chairs, kids. It’s going to be a long ride to the end of austerity – and you can thank a republican.
I’ve done tons of research, hundreds of web sites congressional and news and I’ve come to the conclusion that Stupid, it is all your fault. This sequester, the tours being canceled, the border control, everything that is happening is all your fault. Now me blaming everything on you is as assinine as you blaming everything on republicans when anybody with 1/4 of a brain can see that it is everybody in congress’s fault. You have your head so far up obama’s a$$ that you can’t see the shit through the fececs.OPEN your brain just alittle and see that your bigotry against the republicans has blinded you so much that you can’t see whats right in front of you.
@Maybe-It is a given that as long as the government continues to spend more than they take in they will continue to HAVE to raise our taxes to raise revenue. There is just no way to get away from it other than to STOP spending more than they make. We already owe China over a TRILLION dollars. The good thing about that is they now have a vested interest in keeping the U.S.A. in business. It is just common sense but you can’t seem to get that through the democrats skulls. Wow, look there, no name calling at all unless you say calling Democrats a bad name.
Just another damn lie and excuse for not leading.
We pay for this house it belongs to the people but like everything else it is being taken from us!!
Anyone who believes this would tell you the sky fell a couple weeks back. Another example of its wasn’t my face that was someone else… Who’s running the White House?