After the election of President Barack Obama, my office received thousands of requests for tickets to the 2009 Presidential Inauguration. My staff worked hard to fairly distribute our small allotment of tickets to our large pool of requests.
I was dismayed to learn the day after the swearing-in that many of my constituents who had the fortune of receiving tickets were unjustly turned away from the ceremony. Instead of being allowed to participate in the Inauguration, as their ticket permitted them to do, they were corralled into a cleared traffic tunnel, where they were unable to leave for several hours. This caused them to miss the entire ceremony.
I am sorely disappointed by the poor organization and planning that went into this event. At a large event like this with so many attendants, it is expected that some things will not always go to plan. However, the refusal of entry to thousands of ticket-holders is inexcusable.
To my constituents who were unable to view the Inauguration of President Obama, I am extremely sorry that you were victims of this chaos, and I assure you that I share your displeasure.
While this ordeal has passed, and there is little I can do to personally rectify the fiasco, I have joined with fellow Members of Congress to demand an explanation. On January 21st, 2009, I signed a letter circulated by Rep. Don Young [R-Alaska] and Rep. Gwen Moore [D-Wisconsin] calling for an account of what caused the problem, and an apology from appropriate persons.
To view the letter I signed in PDF format, please click here.
Additionally, you may be interested to hear that the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies issued an apology on January 21, 2009 and announced that the United States Secret Service would be launching an investigation of the debacle. That investigation is now ongoing.
Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Terry Gainer also issued an apology on January 27, 2009, saying, “On behalf of the entire 2009 Inaugural Team, I apologize to each one of you who did not get onto the Capitol grounds, to those stuck in the tunnel, to those who had negative interactions with police officers, and those who experienced all three terrible situations. In addition, I regret the inability of the myriad of officials involved in the planning or the execution to respond to the chaos which unfolded.”
Constituents who received a ticket to the Inauguration but were denied entry are encouraged to send an email to feedback@jccic.senate.gov. Please include your name and address in the email, along with a description of the problems you encountered at the inauguration.
