c cairnes

Review of United States Capitol

The public is not allowed to enter the Capitol by ...

The public is not allowed to enter the Capitol by way of the doors to the building, but are herded through an underground "Visitors' Center" complete with a required film veiwing. Our guide (also required), Ms Jackson, was fully knowledgeable and very pleasant, however, the entire experience was extremely regimented with repeated security screenings, bag searches, full-body x-rays, pat-downs and restrictions. Really over the top compared to what it used to be. Visitors observing the Senate or House from the Galleries (which requires tracking down the office of your Congressional representative in some other building to get an admission slip) are not permitted to wear a hat except for religious purposes or to take notes. A booklet with 16 pages of printed text on The United States Senate is handed out as part of the process of entering the Galleries, but it's against the rules to read there. Hundreds of people in uniforms are milling around politely enforcing rules and directing which side of an empty hallway to walk on.