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"Americans should not feel that official Washington is closed," said Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) regarding precautions taken against the threat of terrorism since the Sept. 11 attacks. The U.S. Capitol has been closed to public tours, streets have been closed and the lighting of the national Christmas tree had been closed to the public but the restriction was lifted at the last minute.

Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), was online Monday, Dec. 10, at 2 p.m. EST, to discuss keeping the District open despite the terrorism threat.

"The closer coordination we're beginning to get with the White House on one hand and from the Congress on the other comes at a time when we can use all the help we can get to help restore a thriving tourism and hospitality sector in this city," said Norton

The transcript follows.

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Eleanor Holmes Norton: There could be no better time to come to Washington because the price is really right. Tourism had been down because of the attacks. For travelers and visitors, however, it's created a wonderful opportunity to see the city at bargain prices. This much is sure: The nation's capital is the safest city in the U.S. precisely because it's the nation's capital. You're safer here than you could possibly be in your own home town. If anything, as the congresswoman I have had to complain about overkill for security. The weather's good and the time is ripe. Hope to see you in Washington.

Washington, D.C.: Is D.C. getting back to normal since the Sept. 11 attacks or do you think people are still staying away from public outings and places?

Eleanor Holmes Norton: People are beginning to follow the President's message on that wonderful ad that is on TV all the time. It says travel and do your business and have fun. We had some real down time, especially when the airport was closed for three weeks. National is gradually phasing in flights as before. But if you're not hooked up to National, it's worth flying into Baltimore-Washington or Dulles because hotels, restaurants and entertainment will probably never be as reasonablly priced again. Now's the time to come.

Arlington: Delegate Norton,

Could we please wage a campaign against Jersey barriers and concrete planters (which are only marginally better)? Washington, it's monuments, and its buildings are going to be here for at least several hundred more years. Can't we invest in more bollards? It's really awful.

Eleanor Holmes Norton: Help is on the way in the appropriation just passed last week. The ugly barriers insult and mar a beautifully planned city. The National Captial Planning Commission will be funded to do a security design for the city which will get well beyong even bollards. Security will essentially be landscaped with chairs and useful and beautiful barriers rather than these ugly things that make a fortress of this beautiful city.

Alexandria, Va.: At least one of the 9-11 attackers was in the U.S. on a student visa but never showed up for class.

Do you favor forcing universities such as GW, GU and Catholic to keep better track of their foreign students?

Do you think that universities ought to pay for the cost of monitoring students themselves, or should the government pay for it?

Eleanor Holmes Norton: It's outrageous to let people come in to go to school and not keep track of what they actually do. It's not too much to ask that students report on a regular basis and that universities verify that they are in school.

Washington, D.C.: Don't you think that the security of our city is worth the reduced risk on already established targets. As a worker, I feel more comfortable knowing that measures are being taken to protect my well- being without a cost-benefit analysis. You can talk in circles all you want, but no hospitality dollar is worth another tragedy of anymore loss of human life. Everyone is making sacrfices, this is just another one.

Eleanor Holmes Norton: I believe that the city must and is should make enormous sacrifices for safety. However, there are nineteenth century ways to be secure, such as closing things down, and there are twenty-first century ways. We should insist that modern technology and analytical tools be used rather than acquiescing in the most Draconian approaches that close down the society and rob us of a central feature of the American way. For example, when I protested that there were ways to invite the public to the Christmas tree lighting last week, the security people went back to the drawing boards and came forward with a solution that required just a little more thinking than they had done. They decided to put up the same plexiglass in front of the president and first lady that they had used during the Inauguration. Voila. That's not exactly rocket science but it did mean that school children were not shut off from the Christmas tree lighting for the first time in almost 70 years, including war time. And it allowed both the president and the first lady to appear and raise the spirits of the country which is just what we need at Christmas during a war.

D.C: Hi, Ms. Norton.
When talking with my out-of-town friends and family, I keep hearing "but if its so dangerous there that even the White House Christmas tours are cancelled ..." What does that situation say about DC being a good place to visit these days?

Eleanor Holmes Norton: This statement captures exactly why it's important for the President and other leaders to lead by example. No one will know that this is the safest city in the country today as it is unless we do what we say by opening the public places where the powerful decision makers are located. Otherwise, the message is, if the powerful are closing down their places, not only won't I go there, I'd better heed the message to go out and shop and keep doing normal things.

Washington, D.C.: The District of Columbia is very fortunate to have a representative of your caliber who is dedicated to serving their constituency and committed to the best interest of its citizens. Thank you Congresswoman Norton.

Would you ever consider running for president of the United States?

Eleanor Holmes Norton: Let me clear that I did not plant this question and I never plant any but I'm honored and flattered by the suggestion but assure you that you will not see me runnning for president.

U Street: Does the current decline in tourism mean that D.C. will finally get meters in taxicabs? A major complaint I've heard from out-of-towners is that the zone system is confusing and makes no sense.

Eleanor Holmes Norton: Very good observation and it appears that we are finally on our way. There was an announcement just a few days ago that the meter idea is going before the taxi commission. Apparently every study that has been done has recommended meters. The zone system is a remnant from pre-home rule days when the Congress kept the fare between Congress and the White House cheap for its own purposes. That's reason enough to get rid of the zone system.

Midwest: Why should I come to DC, when it is high on the list of likely targets for a dirty nuke attack? If the push to attract tourists is successful, won't that just increase the body count?

Eleanor Holmes Norton: I don't know where you get your inside security information. It would be far more difficult to do such an attack in the nation's capital than elsewhere because of precautions that have been taken here that are stronger than anywhere else. If you live your life that way with so little confidence in our ability to protect ourselves you just as well write bin Laden a note saying, "OK, you win."

Columbia Heights, D.C.: Delegate Norton,
On the subject of over-fortification of our city, another action of dubious effectiveness has been WMATA's decision to remove most of the trash canisters in the Metro stations. This decision was reportedly based on the phone calls of 14 people! The result is simply more trash in teh stations and another little thing that tourists will notice that will remind them of the siege mentality overrunning the city. Might you confer with Richard White about perhaps getting those trash receptacles reinstalled in the Metro stations? Thanks.

Eleanor Holmes Norton: I appreciate this statement that indicates that our residents are pressing the instiutions they pay for to do their job rather than be satisfied with the simplest solutions that drag us down and give the terrorists a victory. You'll be happy to know that Metro is reconsidering this decision and getting trash cannisters that can withstand an explosive, I am told.

Sheridan, Ore.: Good morning, again. That last post reminded me of a question. As you know, law enforcement wants to interview people of Middle-Eastern descent. But now that white American John Walker (along with possibly three others), should that order now expand to include interviewing white Americans?

Thank you, again.

Eleanor Holmes Norton: The Justice Department claims that they are not interviewing by ethnic group but by country of origin. Of course, John Walker came from California.

Alexandria - Ex-DC Family: We applaud your efforts to improve tourism, spending, and the economic enjoyment of the District -- and the whole region!

But will easing physical access be enough? The difficulties in dealing with the D.C. government actually drive residents and visitors away.

We moved out of the District for exactly that reason. Example: friends we were meeting in town for dinner were ticketed by one of the automatic Lockheed red-light cameras. They were being followed -- and sirened out of the way -- by a D.C. ambulance. They contested the ticket. They went to hearings. They filed appeals. And yet -- over 1 1/2 years later -- there's no response from D.C. DMV. So now we just meet in Alexandria.

D.C. is wonderful, but its inept local government just drives 'em away . . .

Eleanor Holmes Norton: Your comments about the inefficiency of local government are correct, but if you were still living in D.C., you would know that Mayor Williams is doing well in reforming the city government. To be fair, I don't think that you can object to an ambulance steering cars out of the way to get to someone who may be ill. Tickets are the bane of everybody's existence and always will be. Not getting your trash pickup or not getting good responses when you call D.C. government is a reason for moving of town perhaps. Getting a ticket is not. By the way, the red light cameras have reduced fatalities from 16 down to two. My only beef with D.C. on red light cameras is that the point is to deter, not simply punish in order to save lives and prevent injuries. Therefore, I think there should be ample warning that a car is approaching a red light camera.

Detroit Mich.: Has the recent attack altered the push for statehood for D.C?

Eleanor Holmes Norton: It has not. Actually though, D.C. is pressing for voting rights rather than statehood at the moment, i.e., full voting representation in the House and the Senate. We will get back to statehood later when the city is strong enough to take back the cost of some expensive state functions that we gave over to the federal government.

Dupont Circle: No, John Walker came from DC and Silver Spring MD.

Eleanor Holmes Norton: John Walker was born here but apparently raised in Marin County, Calif.

Sheridan, Ore.: Good morning. I have some friends who live in DC and they tell me they are agitated because the murder rate is up because local police are playing bodyguards for VIP's.

Is this true?

Thank you.

Eleanor Holmes Norton: It is not but many residents believe that the spike in crime is because our cops are providing security for official places. The police chief says that he can demonstrate that has not been true since the first week or so after Sept. 11. Actually crime is going up in all the big cities. The recession probably has a lot to do with that.

Washington, D.C.: I'm travelling out of the country very soon and am having trouble getting my passport back from the Passport Agency (apparently it got lost in the mail with all the Anthrax hoopla) - people who live in actual states would be calling their congressman right now for some assistance - is there any assistance your office can give me in moving this process along? Thanks -

Eleanor Holmes Norton: Let me be clear that my office can perform any service that any senator or member of Congress performs. We have done some heroic things to get people their passports. I don't know if we can help you. But you should call us immediately at 202-225-8050j. By the way, did you know that I have every privilege of every member of Congress except the final vote on the House floor, including the full vote in committees. When the Democrats were in power, I chaired two subcommittees. Always insist that a public official do for you what needs to be done. Never accept a claim of powerlessness from anybody who claims to represent you -- with or without the vote.

Washington, D.C.: Eleanor -

Just a note to say that you are the best and thanks for all your work on the D.C. Vote Project and everything else you do for DC.

Do you think any of the focus on DC and the gov't using our police force/resources, as well as closing down OUR city, have made any impact on the rest of America about our lack of rights in governing ourselves?

Eleanor Holmes Norton: Many thanks for your generous words. I'm afraid most Americans still don't know that we have no senators and have only a member of the House who has no final vote on the House floor. I'm sure they don't know that we are second per capita in federal income taxes. Therefore, when they stee Washington closed down and barricaded, this only reinforces the notion that this is a city run by the President and the Congress rather than a living, breathing big city of 600,000 who have their own mayor, city council and elected government.

Dupont West: Del. Norton, I really appreciate your activism in trying to get things back to normal. As a DC resident, I am super frustrated by the way the Federal government has treated us. What other city would tolerate having its airport closed, its museums barred, and cultural events cancelled? But since we have no voting representation with the Federal government what can we do? Should we write to - who?

Eleanor Holmes Norton: First of all, please do not make it worse than it is. The museums are not barred but too few tourists are visiting. The airport was closed but it's in Virginia and we exercised our democratic right of protest and got it open. The Capitol tours were closed and I protested and said that I would carry theo matter to the floor and it was reopened within a few days. The White House Christmas tree lighting was closed but they found a way to open the ceremony after we protested. I recount these recent events simply to remind you that in a democracy you can make things happen if you speak up and resolve not to take it. I have no doubt that we can open up this city again because we are doing it by exercising the very rights that have led us to fight for freedom in this war.

Eleanor Holmes Norton: If you could have seen crowds lined up for Capitol tours in a pouring rain last Saturday, you would understand why I fought for this simple right. Sure I want visitors to come to Washington and help our economy. But far, far more important we must never allow places to be shut to the public or off limits for normal activities unless there is an emergency or unless we are simply temporarily closed in order to find a way to open up again. Being an American has always been about placing courage over fear by using American innovation to find a practical way to maintain the open society that is our hallmark. We wont' give up on that. If Israel and western Europe, who have seen far more terrorism than we, have maintained an open society, surely the land of the free and the home of the brave can do as well. Happy Holidays. See in Washington.

washingtonpost.com:

That wraps up today's show. Thanks to everyone who joined the discussion.

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