WASHINGTON, March 5 (Xinhua) -- The White House said Tuesday that it has to cancel public tours beginning this Saturday due to sequester government spending cuts.
"Due to staffing reductions resulting from sequestration, we regret to inform you that White House tours will be canceled effective Saturday, March 9, 2013, until further notice," according to a notice sent by the White House visitors Office to congressional offices.
"We very much regret having to take this action, particularly during the popular Spring touring season," the White House notice said.
The White House offers free self-guided tours to the public in the morning from Tuesday through Saturday. U.S. citizens should schedule through one's Member of Congress in the Capitol Hill. Citizens from other countries could contact their embassy in Washington D.C. for assistance in submitting a tour request.
According to the White House website, requests can be submitted up to six months in advance and no less than 21 days in advance and tourists are encouraged to submit their requests as early as possible.
U.S. President Barack Obama signed an order last Friday to start an 85-billion-U.S.-dollar across-the-board government spending cuts after U.S. lawmakers failed to reach a replacement plan. The automatic government spending cuts, or "sequester" in U. S. government budget language, were included in the August 2011 debt-ceiling package to force lawmakers to come up with a long- term deficit reduction plan.
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