ABC : Hundreds of school kids who have dreamed of visiting the White House on their spring break are now dealing with disappointment. Their plans have been dashed. Less than 24 hours after the Obama administration canceled all White House tours indefinitely, parents and children from across the country have been speaking out about their frustration with Washington’s sequester.
Their message to lawmakers? “The White House is our house! Please let us visit!” chanted a group of a dozen 6th graders from Waverly, Iowa, on a call with ABC News’ Jonathan Karl.
The group from St. Paul’s Lutheran School, just outside Cedar Falls, received the news of their canceled tour from Rep. Bruce Bailey’s office earlier today. They are headed for Washington a week from Friday, after months of fundraising and building excitement.
Thalacker said the 16 sixth-graders are now launching a Facebook campaign to get the White House to open the doors.That sentiment was shared by kids, parents and would-be chaperones all across the country in interviews with ABC News.
Rhonda Helms of North Olmsted, Ohio, said her teenage children — Bryan, 13, and Shelby, 16 — excitedly applied for a White House tour six months ago through the office of Sen. Sherrod Brown. Now, their trip in the first week of April will be missing what was to be its biggest highlight.Tamera Penning, a mother of two from Iowa City who home-schools her kids, said the situation is “very hard to understand.”
Penning and her daughters, ages 7 and 10, had been eagerly anticipating a walk through the White House’s historic halls later this month. Now, their tour is canceled — one of four arranged through Rep. Dave Lobesack’s office in Iowa’s 2nd congressional district.
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