Western-Star.com

The Joint Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies is warning on its Web site, inaugural.senate.gov, about scams involving inauguration tickets.

"The public should also be aware that no Web site or other ticket outlet actually has inaugural swearing-in tickets to sell, regardless of what they may claim," the site says.

Tickets are only available through the offices of U.S. senators and representatives, according to the joint committee.

Under pressure from Congress, online sites such as eBay and StubHub have banned the reselling of inauguration tickets.

Congress also is fast-tracking legislation that would make counterfeiting inaugural tickets a misdemeanor punishable by fines of up to $100,000 and a year in prison.

Jessica Towhey, press secretary to U.S. Rep. John Boehner, R-West Chester Twp., said she has heard of potential scams for inauguration tickets.

"There's a lot of excitement surrounding the swearing-in of a new president," she said. "It's unfortunate that folks would want to scam people on such a historic event."

Towhey said the House Minority Leader's office has received about 1,500 ticket requests for its 198 tickets.

"We want to accommodate as many people as possible," Towhey said, adding that there will be a cap on the number distributed to each person, which will be done on a first-come, first-served basis. "We're putting people on a waiting list and making sure they are from the 8th District."

Megan Dubyak, press secretary of U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said people can still get on Brown's list for tickets. The office could get as many as 400 tickets, but so far they have received about 20,000 requests.

"The fastest way to request tickets is going through our Web site at www.brown.senate.gov," Dubyak said.

A spokesperson for U.S. Rep. Michael Turner, R-Dayton, who represents the 3rd District that includes Carlisle, Franklin and most of Warren County, including portions of Middletown, said that office has received 2,100 ticket requests so far. He said the best way to make a ticket request is contact Turner's district office at (937) 225-2843.

AAA offices in southwest Ohio will not be offering package trips to go to the inauguration, according to offices in Middletown and Lebanon/Cincinnati.

However, Jen Diener of AAA Miami Valley says there is a package deal available, which will include motorcoach transportation, two night hotel accommodations at the Embassy Suites in Williamsburg, Va., and then a trip to the inauguration in Washington. The hotel is more than two hours from Washington. The trip leaves Dayton Jan. 19, and rates start at $550 up to $850 per person. The AAA package does not include tickets to the swearing-in. Up to 100 people can take part in the local AAA trip, according to Diener. For information or to reserve a seat, call (937) 224-2888.

Those planning to attend the inauguration are warned that security will be in place and to be prepared for searches, officials said. In addition, visitors also are warned that they could be spending a couple of hours standing in very cold and possibly windy and/or wet weather.

A front-page article in the Tuesday, Nov. 18, edition of the Washington Post said officials are bracing for as many as 4 million people to attend the inauguration — roughly equal to the population of the city of Los Angeles.

Staff Writer Anthony Shoemaker and the Associated Press contributed to this report.