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Kids Will Soon Be Able To Sled On Capitol Hill

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Congressional leaders slipped language into the 2,000-page omnibus spending bill released late Tuesday night that will subvert Capitol Hill Police and allow children to sled down Capitol Hill.

The move comes as a response to a protest earlier this year where dozens of people staged a “sled-in” of sorts on Capitol Hill.

As first noted by Roll Call, the $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill extends a provision of a previous spending bill that instructs Capitol Hill Police to look the other way when they encounter sledders on the hill.

The ban was put in place as a security precaution following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

In March, a giant snowstorm dumped eight inches on snow on the D.C. area. Capitol Hill, which is surrounded by a neighborhood full of young families, seemed like a perfect place to have a little winter fun.

That fun was almost stymied by Capitol Hill cops who were made to enforce a ban on sledding on capitol grounds, but with help from D.C.’s non-voting delegate to Congress Eleanor Holmes Norton and a little civil disobedience children were able to sled down Capitol Hill.

Norton convinced Capitol Hill Police to issue a one-time waiver to allow sledders on the hill. Police initially ignored her request, but after several dozen people gathered on Capitol Hill and used their sleds anyway, the police eventually backed down.

The language in the spending bill isn’t binding for the Capitol Hill Police, it simply asks them to look the other way, so it is still up to the cops if they want to enforce the law or not.

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