William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021

Floor Speech

Several weeks ago, we learned that the President was considering, and the Secretary of Defense was preparing for, the possibility of deploying Active-Duty Forces under the authorities of the Insurrection Act.

The Insurrection Act was not invoked in this case, but for many Americans, it was the first time hearing of a law that was originally drafted more than 200 years ago.

For many of our men and women in uniform, it was the first time since taking the sacred oath to protect and defend that they imagined that they might be deployed against their own fellow citizens, not against a foreign adversary.

Many of us were troubled to watch as members of our National Guard were deployed in the Washington, D.C., area as part of our response to the recent protests.

In the Armed Services Committee markup and earlier today, we heard a robust debate about this centuries-old authority, and that is healthy for our democracy.

Personally, I believe these authorities have done some good in our Nation's history. The Insurrection Act authorities were instrumental in enforcement of civil rights laws when some States were resistant.

This amendment, my amendment, is very narrow in scope.

Currently, title X, section 253 of the U.S. Code reads: ``The President, by using the militia or the Armed Forces, or both, or by any other means, shall take such measures as he considers necessary to suppress, in a State, any insurrection, domestic violence, unlawful combination, or conspiracy. . . . `' And then it goes on, but it never says what is meant by ``any other means.'' My amendment would say that ``any other means'' is limited to Federal law enforcement officers who are clearly identifiable by name and agency.

In the difficult scenario in which the Insurrection Act truly must be invoked, we cannot afford uncertainty. Our military members are clearly identifiable, and so must our law enforcement officers be as well. Blurry lines and uncertainty harm everyone and put everyone at risk.

Mr. Speaker, I am grateful for the engagement and support of my colleague from Michigan (Mr. Mitchell). He is the proud father of a son who is a police officer, and he has joined me in this effort after a discussion of our mutual objectives during the Armed Services Committee debate on this amendment.

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Ms. HOULAHAN. Mr. Speaker, I would inquire how much time is remaining.

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Ms. HOULAHAN. Mr. Speaker, I would inquire how much time I have remaining.

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Ms. HOULAHAN. Mr. Speaker, it is clear that we need to take action on the appropriate deployment of unmarked and unidentified law enforcement personnel.

While this amendment is narrowly scoped to focus on a specific scenario, the invocation of the Insurrection Act, I hope it helps to drive a conversation about these questions more broadly.

I urge my colleagues to support this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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