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Much Of The Government May Be Shut Down, But Tours Of The Capitol Are Still Running
Whoops. I gave some bad advice to some sightseers last week. I hope they didn't pay any attention to me and headed over to the Capitol grounds anyway.
JAN 3, 5:18 PM
Much Of The Government May Be Shut Down, But Tours Of The Capitol Are Still Running
It’s quiet in the Capitol Visitor Center at 9:50 a.m. It’s hard to pinpoint why exactly. It’s still morning and the building has only been open for a little over an hour. It’s early January, traditionally a slow time of year for D.C. tourism. It’s the first day of the 116th Congress, with new members about to be sworn-in upstairs. It’s also, of course, the middle of the partial federal government shutdown, which has locked the doors to many of D.C.’s landmarks. But, despite the optics of the situation, not the Capitol Visitor Center.
“Everybody thinks we are shut down because we were last time,” says a red-jacketed Capitol Visitor Center employee. “Well, we’re not.”
U.S. Capitol tours and operations are continuing to run normally thanks to the Legislative Branch Appropriations Bill, which will provide funding through September 2019.
“It’s a good time for folks to come on over and get a tour of the United States Capitol,” Tom Casey, director of marketing and communications at the Capitol Visitor Center, says cheerily.
....
Much Of The Government May Be Shut Down, But Tours Of The Capitol Are Still Running
It’s quiet in the Capitol Visitor Center at 9:50 a.m. It’s hard to pinpoint why exactly. It’s still morning and the building has only been open for a little over an hour. It’s early January, traditionally a slow time of year for D.C. tourism. It’s the first day of the 116th Congress, with new members about to be sworn-in upstairs. It’s also, of course, the middle of the partial federal government shutdown, which has locked the doors to many of D.C.’s landmarks. But, despite the optics of the situation, not the Capitol Visitor Center.
“Everybody thinks we are shut down because we were last time,” says a red-jacketed Capitol Visitor Center employee. “Well, we’re not.”
U.S. Capitol tours and operations are continuing to run normally thanks to the Legislative Branch Appropriations Bill, which will provide funding through September 2019.
“It’s a good time for folks to come on over and get a tour of the United States Capitol,” Tom Casey, director of marketing and communications at the Capitol Visitor Center, says cheerily.
....
