New Haven, CT – Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (CT-3) announced the process for her office to distribute tickets to President-elect Barack Obama’s Inauguration. These tickets, as with all tickets for this event, are free, despite reports of tickets for sale.

In January our nation will witness an unprecedented historical milestone. Given this, the significant interest in inauguration tickets is to be expected. In fact, officials in Washington are preparing for as many as four million people to come to the nation’s capitol to witness President-elect Barack Obama’s Inauguration on January 20th.

Inauguration tickets for the grounds of the U.S. Capitol are extremely limited. My office, as with each Member of the U.S. House of Representatives will receive only 198 tickets to the swearing-in. As of today my office has received over 4,200 requests for tickets.

While only a very limited of number of tickets to the swearing-in ceremony are available, you can attend the Inaugural festivities without a ticket. The entire length of the National Mall will be opened to the public so that more people than ever before will be able to watch and hear President-elect Obama’s swearing-in and speech. You can also attend the Inaugural Parade, which will take the newly sworn-in President Obama from the U.S. Capitol to the White House, without a ticket. For more information, http://www.pic2009.org/content/home

For those who expect to attend the outdoor Inauguration ceremonies, whether the swearing-in, the parade, or other festivities, please be aware that the weather in January is typically cold and wet with a possibility of snow. Given the security screening and large crowds, ticketed attendees, should plan to arrive early and expect to be standing outside in the cold for at least three to five hours.

Additionally, in light of the number of people anticipated to attend the Inauguration ceremonies, local hotel rooms and flights and trains to the Washington, D.C. area are already filling up and are likely to be expensive.

I have created the following process for distributing Obama Inauguration tickets:

To request tickets, constituents should visit the website at DeLauro.House.Gov ;

No more than two (2) tickets will be given to any individual;

Tickets will not be distributed to groups, organizations, corporations or other entities.

Some tickets will be distributed to my family, friends and staff. The rest of the tickets will be determined by lottery on Friday, December 19th. Consideration will be given only to requests for tickets that were received by Wednesday, December 17th. People selected will be notified by email or phone by Monday, December 22nd.

Tickets will be delivered by the Inauguration Committee to Congressional offices just prior to the event. People selected to receive tickets must arrange to pick up their tickets in person at my Washington, DC office at 2413 Rayburn on Friday, January 16th or on Monday, January 19th between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Proper identification must be presented.

My office will provide information about general inauguration activities for those who have contacted the office and plan on being in Washington during the Inauguration, regardless of being selected for a ticket to the Inauguration Ceremony.