Welcome to the U.S. Capitol, Mr. and Mrs. Stinky America

Harry Reid, during a speech on the floor of the Senate, had this to say:

“Mr. President, someone wanting to visit the Capitol today, there is no place for them to gather. They gather -it used to be out on the East Front - now they gather on the West Front. And the people who work here joke about you can always tell when it's summertime because you can smell the visitors. And what we mean by that Mr. President – they stand out there in the high humidity, heat, sweating, and it’s really – there’s no place for them to go. The bathrooms in this facility are almost nonexistent. There is one on this side, one on the other side, both very small.”

Harry does have a point about summer visitations to the Capitol. I took my family there in July of 2005 and it was sweltering in D.C. the day we visited the Capitol building (however, we all had bathed so I don't think the smell factor was much in play). We also entered through the air conditioned underground tunnel that connected our congressman's office building with the main complex. No standing out in the hot and humid weather for us VIPs.

During our trip the side of the Capitol complex that faces out onto the Mall was all torn up because they were in the process of creating a multimillion dollar reception area for visitors. I guess it's not open yet, or if it is, perhaps they can add a few showers.