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Congressman: Defund President's golf trips until White House re-opens tours
Posted: 03.06.2013 at 5:05 PM
Norm Van Ness

Norm Van Ness is the Chief Meteorologist at WNWO.

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The debate over the Sequester, and a Continuing Resolution that would specify specific cuts under the measure, took a more personal turn for the President this week.

While debate over the resolution was ongoing, Rep. Louis Gohmert (R-Texas) introduced an amendment that would essentially stop the funding needed to provide transportation and security for the President when he embarks on his many golf trips.

If the amendment were to pass the ban would only be lifted when and if the public tours of the White House...a casualty of the Sequester cuts...were reinstated.

The amendment states quite simply: "None of the funds made available by a division of this act may be used to transport the president to or from a golf course until public tours of the White House resume."

According to White House Dossier, Gohmert cited an estimate by Sen. Jeff Sessions, the ranking Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, that 341 federal employees could have avoided being furloughed had Obama not traveled to Florida for a three-day golf extravaganza.

“Perhaps, quitting furloughing all these federal employees, we’ll be able to get the Democrats and Republicans across America (and) people that don’t even have a Party because they’re just Americans – they’ll be able to get their tour of the White House and all it will cost is one or two golf trips less,” Gohmert said.

The amendment doesn't have a good chance of becoming law however, as the resolution, which would fund federal government spending through the end of the year, is being pushed through by House Republicans with no amendments.

Do you think the President's golf trips should be defunded in light of other cuts being made over the Sequester?  And is it a good move to tie that funding to a re-opening of the White House to the public?

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