While the White House blamed automatic budget cuts for its decision to end public tours there, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, wants everyone to know tourists can still visit the U.S. Capitol.

Boehner sent a letter to his constituents whose White House tours were cancelled "by the Obama administration" to let them know that they can come two miles up the street and visit the House and Senate instead.

Republicans have for days been accusing the president of exaggerating the impact of the so-called sequestration budget cuts, which amounts to about $85 billion in reductions through the end of September.

"While I'm disappointed the White House has chosen to comply with sequestration by cutting public tours, I'm pleased to assure you that public tours of the United States Capitol will continue," Boehner wrote to Ohio residents. "Under the leadership of the House officers and their teams, who oversee daily operations in the Capitol in consultation with the Office of the Speaker, planning for the possibility of sequestration has been underway for some time. Consequently, alternative spending reductions have been implemented within the Capitol complex to ensure public tours and other regular activities can proceed as they normally would."

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sferrechio@washingtonexaminer.com