IV
104TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. RES. 458
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the President
should request the Department of the Treasury and the Secret Service
to work with the Government of the District of Columbia to develop
a plan for the permanent reopening to vehicular traffic of Pennsylvania
Avenue in front of the White House in order to restore the Avenue
to its original state and return it to the people.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JUNE 20, 1996
Ms. NORTON (for herself, Mr. DAVIS, Mr. LATOURETTE, and Mr. MORAN)
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee
on Government Reform and Oversight
RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that
the President should request the Department of the
Treasury and the Secret Service to work with the Gov-
ernment of the District of Columbia to develop a plan
for the permanent reopening to vehicular traffic of Penn-
sylvania Avenue in front of the White House in order
to restore the Avenue to its original state and return
it to the people.
Whereas in 1791, President George Washington commis-
sioned Pierre Charles L’Enfant to draft a blueprint for
America’s new capital city, and they envisioned Penn-
sylvania Avenue as a bold, ceremonial boulevard phys-
•HRES 458 IH
ically linking the U.S. Capitol building and the White
House, and symbolically the legislative and executive
branches of government;
Whereas as an integral element of the District of Columbia,
Pennsylvania Avenue stood for 195 years as a vital,
working, unbroken roadway, elevating it into a place of
national importance as ‘‘America’s Main Street’’;
Whereas 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the White House, has
become America’s most recognized address and a primary
destination of visitors to the Nation’s capital, and ‘‘the
People’s House’’ is host to 5,000 tourists daily, and
15,000,000 annually;
Whereas as home to the President, and given its prominent
location on Pennsylvania Avenue and its proximity to the
people, the White House has become a powerful symbol
of freedom, openness, and an individual’s access to gov-
ernment;
Whereas on May 20, 1995, citing possible security risks from
vehicles transporting terrorist bombs, President Clinton
ordered the Secret Service, in conjunction with the De-
partment of the Treasury, to close Pennsylvania Avenue
to vehicular traffic for two blocks in front of the White
House;
Whereas while the security of the President and visitors to
the White House is of grave concern and is not to be
taken lightly, the need to assure the President’s safety
must be balanced with the expectation of freedom inher-
ent in a democracy, and the present situation is tilted too
heavily toward security at freedom’s expense;
Whereas by impeding access and imposing undue hardships
upon tourists, residents of the District, commuters, and
•HRES 458 IH
local business owners and their customers, the closure of
Pennsylvania Avenue, undertaken without the counsel of
the government of the District of Columbia, has replaced
the former openness of the area surrounding the White
House with barricades, additional security checkpoints,
and an atmosphere of fear and distrust; and
Whereas in the year following the closure of Pennsylvania Av-
enue, the taxpayers have borne a significant burden for
additional security measures along the Avenue near the
White House: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep-
resentatives that the President should request the Depart-
ment of the Treasury and the Secret Service to work with
the Government of the District of Columbia to develop a
plan for the permanent reopening to vehicular traffic of
Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House in order
to restore the Avenue to its original state and return it
to the people, so long as the Secretary of the Treasury
and the Secret Service certify that the plan protects the
security of the people who live and work in the White
House.
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