Secret Service plans to save $2 million by ending public tours of the White House beginning March 9, CNN reports.
It’s a small fraction of the cuts that need to be made to absorb $84 million in reduction as part of the sequestration, CNN reported.
The Secret Service pays 37 uniformed officers $50 an hour to stand guard along the route.
The agency is still debating how to most effectively cut $84 million from its $1.6 billion budget.
“The Secret Service, like other agencies of government is affected by the sequester,” White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said during his Thursday press briefing. “And the Secret Service presented options that ranged from canceling tours to potential furloughs and cuts in overtime. And in order to allow the Secret Service to best fulfill its core mission, the White House made the decision that we would unfortunately have to temporarily suspend these tours.”
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