Order Code RS21950
October 4, 2004
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
The Presidential Inauguration of 2005: Basic
Facts and Information on Inaugural Festivities
Tom Coipuram, Jr.
Senior Research Librarian
Information Research Division
Summary
The next presidential inauguration is set for January 20, 2005. This report provides
general information and facts concerning past inaugurations and the forthcoming one,
and historical information on the weather on inauguration day and the financing of past
inaugural festivities. Also provided is information on where to obtain tickets for the
inaugural festivities and how to participate in the inaugural parade, and a brief list of
resources on the history of presidential inaugurations and compilations of inaugural
addresses. This report will be updated as events warrant.
Presidential Inauguration
The next inauguration of the President of the United States is set for Thursday,
January 20, 2005.1 In early 2004, both the Senate and House of Representatives approved
S.Con.Res. 94, a resolution establishing the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural
Ceremonies (JCCIC), and S.Con.Res. 93, a resolution authorizing the use of the Rotunda
of the Capitol by the JCCIC.
In response to a variety of questions relating to the presidential inauguration, the
following selected information have been compiled: costs of recent inaugural festivities;
historical facts on past presidential inaugurations and the various inaugural committees;
and information on how to obtain tickets to the swearing-in ceremony, inaugural balls and
galas, and how to participate in the inaugural parade.
1 The U.S. Constitution, Twentieth Amendment, “Commencement of the Terms of Office,” states,
“The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January ...”
(ratified January 23, 1933).
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress

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Historical Information
Costs of Recent Inaugural Festivities. Following is information on financing
of past inaugural festivities:2
! George W. Bush, 2001, est. $30 million3
! Bill Clinton, 1997, est. $29 million (included is the $9 million surplus
from the 1993 inauguration); 1993, est. between $25 million and $30
million
! George H. W. Bush, 1989, est. $30 million
! Ronald Reagan, 1985, est. $20 million; 1981, est. $16.3 million
! Jimmy Carter, 1977, est. $3.5 million
! Richard Nixon, 1973, est. $4 million
Past Presidential Inaugurations. Historical information on past presidential
inaugurations can be found at the Library of Congress website, Presidential Inaugurations:
“I Do Solemnly Swear ...,” which is a collection of 400 selected items from each of the
63 inaugurations from George Washington’s in 1789 to George W. Bush’s in 2001. This
site, at [http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/pihtml/pihome.html], has a wealth of historical
information, including
! Diaries and letters of Presidents and of those who witnessed the
inaugurations
! Handwritten drafts of inaugural addresses
! Inaugural related broadsides
! Past inaugural tickets and programs
! Inaugural prints, photographs, and sheet music
! Facts about the oaths of office, precedents, and notable events
! Bible and scripture passages for each President since George Washington
Recent Presidential Inaugurations.
! The PBS Online NewsHour site can be found at
[http://www.pbs.org/newshour/inauguration/]. It provides historical
information on past inaugurations, photographs, and links to President
George W. Bush’s 2001 inauguration.
! The National Archives and Records Administration’s Clinton
Inauguration website is available at the following address:
[http://clinton4.nara.gov/textonly/WH/Family/html/Inauguration.html].
It provides information and links to Bill Clinton’s 1993 and 1997
inaugurations.
2 Estimated costs through 1997 are from the 1997 Presidential Inaugural Committee and Facts
on File, 1997.
3 “Bush Takes Oath of Office as 43rd U.S. President,” Facts on File World Press Digest, Jan. 20,
2001.

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! A brief history of the first presidential inauguration, including
information on the tradition, language, and technology in past and current
inaugurations is also available at the National Archives and Records
Administration’s Clinton Inauguration site at [http://clinton4.nara.gov/
textonly/WH/Family/html/inauguration_history.html].
Inaugural Photographs/Images.
! The Presidential Inaugural: Documentary Photographs website of the
Smithsonian Institution provides photographs of recent inaugurals (1985-
1997), including photographs of inaugural festivities held at various
Smithsonian Museums since 1881.
[http://photo2.si.edu/inaugural/inau_top/inaugural.html].
! “I Do Solemnly Swear”: A Half Century of Inaugural Images from the
U.S. Senate Collection features historic engravings that depict inaugural
festivities at the Capitol and around Washington, DC, from Franklin
Pierce’s 1853 inauguration to Theodore Roosevelt’s 1905 inauguration.
[http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/art/common/slideshow/Inaugurat
ion_1905.jsp].
Inaugural Day Weather. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration’s (NOAA) Eastern Regions Headquarters website, Presidential Inaugural
Weather, provides numerous facts on the weather during presidential inaugurations,
including normal weather for January inaugurations, extreme weather for past
inaugurations, inaugural weather fact sheets, and a chart showing the inauguration day
weather (with notes) for each presidential inauguration from 1798 to 1997.
[http://www.erh.noaa.gov/lwx/Historic_Events/Inauguration/Inauguration.html]
Inaugural Addresses. Texts of the inaugural addresses of U.S. Presidents from
George Washington to George W. Bush are available at the Avalon Project of Yale Law
School website at [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/presiden/inaug/inaug.htm] or at
the Bartleby.com website at [http://www.bartleby.com/124/].
Inaugural Committees, Tickets, and Parade Information
There are three major committees4 that plan and support the various inaugural
activities.
Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies (JCCIC). The
JCCIC, at [http://www.inaugural.senate.gov/], is responsible for conducting the official
swearing-in ceremony of the President and Vice President at the Capitol on January 20,
2005. This committee also distributes blocks of tickets for the swearing-in ceremony to
Members of both houses, and Members may decide how they wish to distribute the
tickets. Detailed information about the allotments and the distribution process is to be
available after the November election, and tickets are to be distributed in early January
2005. Historical information concerning the JCCIC and the names of past and current
4 Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies (JCCIC) Fact Sheet, Sept. 19, 2000.

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members of the committee is available at the JCCIC website. Also included is a link to
“Facts & Firsts,” which provides historical information on past presidential inaugurations
from George Washington to William J. Clinton. For additional information on the
swearing-in ceremony, congressional offices can contact the JCCIC, Senate Russell Office
Building Courtyard, Room 5, at 4-8232.
Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC). The PIC organizes, plans, and
executes most of the inaugural celebration activities, including the inaugural parade,
opening ceremonies, concerts, galas, and inaugural balls. The PIC, which is directly
responsible to the newly elected President and is staffed by volunteers, generally from the
wining party, is to be formed shortly after the general election on November 2, 2004. All
requests for ball tickets, parade, and gala information should be referred to the PIC. The
PIC, with the support of the Joint Task Force-Armed Forces Inaugural Committee (JTF-
AFIC) [see below], selects the high school and college bands who are interested in
participating in the inaugural parade. Traditionally, the bands are selected so that each
of the 50 states is represented. Contact information for the PIC will be available in
November.
Joint Task Force - Armed Forces Inaugural Committee (JTF-AFIC). The
JTF-AFIC at [http://www.afic.army.mil/index.htm], which is established by the Secretary
of Defense, continues the tradition of military participation in the presidential
inaugurations that dates back to 1789. It supports the work of both the JCCIC and the
PIC. However, the JTF-AFIC only implements support to the PIC and does not choose
the groups but will collect and organize applications from groups and individuals wanting
to participate in various inaugural events. Information concerning the inaugural parade
and online application for school bands or individuals interested in participating in the
inaugural parade on January 20, 2005, including contact information (e-mail and address),
is available at the “Public Participation” link of the JTF-AFIC website. Applications may
be submitted online (recommended) or mailed to the JTF-AFIC at the following address:
Joint Task Force Armed Forces
Tel.: 202-358-7216
Inaugural Committee
E-mail: lee.packnett@fmmc.army.mil
ATTN: Band Control
[http://www.afic.army.mil/index.htm]
330 C Street SW, Suite 4064 A
Washington, DC 20597-5580
Inaugural Tickets, School Bands, and the Inaugural Parade.
! Detailed information about the allotments and the distribution process is
to be available after the general election on November 2, 2004, but
information concerning tickets for the swearing-in ceremony, which is
available from the JCCIC, will not be available until early January 2005.
Tickets for the inauguration balls and galas are to be available from the
PIC, which is to be formed shortly after the general elections in
November.
! Applications to participate in the inaugural parade are available at the
“Public Participation” link of the JTF-AFIC website at
[http://www.afic.army.mil/index.htm]. Applications may be submitted

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online (recommended) or mailed to the JTF-AFIC at the above address.
The JTF-AFIC is accepting applications now.
In past presidential inaugurations, a Senator or Representative has either nominated
or recommended a school band from their state or district to the PIC for the inaugural
parade. School bands, in addition to submitting an application with the JTF-AFIC, can
also contact their Senators or Representatives if they are interested in participating in the
parade.
Additional Sources of Information
Presidential Inaugurations
Boller, Paul F. Presidential Inaugurations. New York: Harcourt, Inc., 2001.
Durbin, Louise. Inaugural Cavalcade. New York: Dodd, Mead, 1971.
Hurja, E. Edward. History of Presidential Inaugurations. New York: New York
Democrat, 1933.
The Inaugural Story, 1789-1969. New York: American Heritage Pub. Co., 1969. 175 p.
Kittler, Glenn D. Hail to the Chief: The Inauguration Days of Our Presidents.
Philadelphia: Chilton Books, 1965.
Lomask, Milton. “I Do Solemnly Swear ...”: The Story of the Presidential Inauguration.
New York: Ariel Books, 1966.
McKee, Thomas Hudson. Presidential Inaugurations: from George Washington, 1789,
to Grover Cleveland, 1893. Washington, DC: Statistical Pub. Co., 1893.
Presidential Inaugurations: A Selected List of References. Washington, DC: Library of
Congress, 1960.
Presidential Inaugural Addresses
Humes, James C. My Fellow Americans: Presidential Addresses That Shaped History.
New York: Praeger, 1992.
The Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents. Ed. with introd. by John Gabriel Hunt. Rev.
ed. New York: Gramercy Books, c1997.
Newton, Davis. The Presidents Speak: The Inaugural Addresses of the American
Presidents from Washington to Clinton. New York: H. Holt and Co., c1994.

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