Congress launches inauguration website

WASHINGTON (AP) - Congress has launched a website and Facebook page as it prepares for the 57th presidential inauguration to take place on the west side of the Capitol on Jan. 21.

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a statement Friday that the website will provide an encyclopedic resource for facts on past inaugurations and information about the ceremony where either President Barack Obama or Mitt Romney will be sworn in as the next president.

Schumer, chairman of the Senate Rules Committee, said the website will offer facts and figures of past inaugurations and a timeline with audio, video and photos of previous ceremonies. The database will include information on inaugural parades and balls and what was served at past inaugural luncheons.

The first-ever Facebook page will provide up-to-date information about the ceremonies, including information that will be helpful to those planning to attend the event.

Schumer is a member of the bipartisan Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, which oversees and plans for the inauguration.

The swearing-in ceremony takes place on the steps of the Capitol overlooking the Mall and the Washington Monument. The grounds on the west side of the Capitol have already been closed off as construction has begun on the inauguration site.

The ceremony will take place on Jan. 21, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, because Jan. 20, the usual date, will fall on a Sunday.

The website is http://www.inaugural.senate.gov. The Facebook page is http://www.facebook.com/JCCIC .