Providing for Consideration of H.R. National Apprenticeship Act of Providing for Consideration of H. Con. Res. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year and for Other Purposes

Floor Speech

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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Morelle), a distinguished member of the Committee on Rules, for yielding to me.

Mr. Speaker, I support the underlying measures before us today, but I take a moment to discuss something else included here.

Mr. Speaker, just outside these doors is something students walk through every day to prevent gun violence in their schools, something travelers pass through every time they board an airplane, and something the public goes through every time they enter a Federal building:

Magnetometers. Metal detectors.

They are a modern-day inconvenience that we are all used to, and, frankly, they are a small price to pay to keep Americans safe.

Metal detectors were installed outside this Chamber following the recent deadly insurrection at the Capitol. Although these machines are new, the policy they are enforcing is not. That has been on the books for more than 50 years.

President Lyndon Johnson signed a law outlawing weapons on Capitol grounds back in 1967. The Capitol Police Board, the entity that oversees security regulations in the complex, then issued regulations soon after. They prohibited firearms from being carried into the Chamber and in the connected rooms and galleries.

Mr. Speaker, now some Members, like myself, want to see these regulations go further. Representatives Huffman and Speier have been instrumental on this front, and I hope that we act. Others want no prohibitions at all.

Mr. Speaker, regardless, the rules are the rules. I thought that was clear, but apparently some of my friends on the other side think differently. Some are acting as though, by being elected to Congress, they have been anointed to some sort of special club, one that gets to pick and choose what rules to follow.

A Member on the other side ran an ad depicting her walking around our Nation's Capital with a loaded firearm, tweeting: ``Let me tell you why I will carry my Glock to Congress.''

Another Republican recently bragged that he was armed during the recent riots, and another was stopped by Capitol Police bringing a gun into this Chamber.

Mr. Speaker, I could go on. We have people in this Chamber who have posted disturbing and threatening rhetoric against Members of this body. And there is speculation that maybe some Members were complicit with those who attacked the Capitol on January 6. You know, these words and actions raise serious safety concerns.

Mr. Speaker, these metal detectors are manned by the same police officers who saved our lives during the insurrection while risking their own, yet some Members on the other side have disrespected these Capitol Police Officers, verbally abused them, pushed them aside, and disregarded their orders, all to avoid this basic safety measure. That is no way to treat our heroes.

Some of these very same Members have been quick to send press releases and cut advertisements about the need to respect the police; but here in these Halls, when they think no one is watching, apparently their message is different. It is: ``Do as I say, not as I do.''

Mr. Speaker, that is why we must act today. This isn't a messaging bill. This is as serious as it gets. This elitist mentality must end.

Apparently, it will take a rules change to ensure that all Members follow the rules just like everyone else.

Included in this measure is language to change the rules to fine Members who interfere with the Capitol Police's ability to do their jobs at the magnetometers outside this Chamber: $5,000 for the first offense, $10,000 for each one thereafter.

This is modeled after a change my Republican friends made in the 115th Congress, which fined Members for taking photos or videos on the floor.

We are taking steps to make sure this process is transparent and fair. Violations will be posted online, and Members will have the chance to have their appeal considered by the bipartisan Ethics Committee.

And let me assure all Americans that these fines will be paid directly by Members.

Now, Mr. Speaker, I am not a mind reader, but I have been here long enough to know how this debate will go. Some on the other side will act like this is some grand inconvenience. Tell that to the millions of Americans who go through metal detectors every day in this country.

Why are you any different? Give me a break.

We need to protect not just Members but staff and all the people who work up here. We need to protect our constituents and the public who visit the people's House.

That is why I urge my colleagues to support this change. The rules apply to us, too, and it is time all of us acted like it.

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