White House tours to resume on limited basis in November

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House will reopen for public tours in November after a seven-month hiatus triggered by federal budget cuts. Starting on November 5, tours of the East Wing and executive residence portions of the White House will resume for three days a week, rather than five. The popular tours were shut down last March after $85 billion in spending cuts kicked in and Secret Service officials could not provide sufficient personnel for the tours. Secret Service spokesman Robert Novy said the agency was able to find money for the tours based on appropriations from a budget bill, known as a continuing resolution, that ended a 16-day government shutdown on Thursday. "In light of the new fiscal year, the Secret Service is confident that, through the continuing resolution, tours can operate on a limited schedule while still meeting operational requirements," he said. (Reporting By Steve Holland; Editing by Doina Chiacu)