National Commission to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol Complex Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding, and I thank the chairman for his work.

I have been here a long time. This is my 40th year in the Congress of the United States. I came at the same time Ronald Reagan was elected President of the United States. It was clearly a time of difference in the House and in the country between Republicans and Democrats, but it was also a time when, frankly, the John Katkos of the Congress were in the majority in the Republican Party. And by that I mean, Mr. Speaker, people who wanted to work together to get results that, while not perfect for either side, were good for the country.

So while I thank Mr. Thompson for the hard work he has done, I thank Mr. Katko as well for doing what Americans expect us to do, to come together, looking at a challenge to our country and to our people, coming to a decision to resolve those challenges and those problems.

That is what Mr. Thompson and Mr. Katko have done. Indeed, I think this is, in some ways, the best of days and, in some ways, the worst of days because we have seen today two Republican leaders turn what ought to be a nonpolitical issue, an issue with reference to a unique event, not just a demonstration that has occurred.

I grew up in the 1960s. Whether it was civil rights or Vietnam, there were a lot of demonstrations. But the Capitol of the United States was not attacked. It was not invaded. It was not breached.

The work of the Congress of the United States was not stopped because people were trying to get through the door, with some Members trying to stop them who then said: These are just tourists.

It is sad because what the minority leader in the Senate and the minority leader in the House said is exactly what Mr. Katko pointed out. They wanted a commission that was even, as the 9/11 Commission was even, so that both sides would have an equal voice.

What was the resolution that Mr. Thompson and Mr. Katko attained? Equal division, equal voice. Not only equal voice in terms of numbers but, for instance, one of the things that was controversial was about subpoenas. Mr. Thompson and Mr. Katko arrived at a resolution that said both sides have to agree, or alternatively, the committee can agree. In light of the fact that the committee is evenly divided, it would obviously have to be a bipartisan request for subpoenas.

Now, what we didn't agree on was the distraction and the dissembling. Let's look at this corner; don't look here. Let's look at this corner; don't look here. Let's look at that corner; don't look there. Don't look at just the invasion, the insurrection that occurred on January 6; look at everything else because maybe we can confuse the issue enough that we will lose sight of the insurrection on January 6. We ought not to do that.

I have been here a long time, but I also know the history of the House, and I do not know of any other instance that is analogous to January 6, not one.

In 1812, of course, there was a similar invasion, but it was from a foreign enemy. It was not the enemy within. I said that on the floor that morning as we finished the business of the House, notwithstanding the insurrection.

Mr. Speaker, it is vital that Congress establish a bipartisan, independent commission to investigate January 6, not some other date. That does not absolve any wrongdoing anywhere at any time. But it says that this unique insurrection is a danger to our democracy, not to Republicans or Democrats, to our democracy, to our Congress, to the people's House and the United States Senate, which was occupied. At least this House was not occupied.

But Members were terrified, work was stopped, and democracy, for a short period of time, was overtaken by armed, violent insurrectionists.

Certainly, each one of us ought to be very concerned about getting to the bottom of why that happened. How did it happen? How can we stop it from happening again? What are the resources that we need, and, yes, who was responsible? Some, perhaps, are going to vote against this because that is what they fear.

The 9/11 Commission, as Mr. Katko pointed out, made America safer. It made this institution safer. It made our law enforcement more acutely aware of the failures that led to 9/11. I hope this commission does the same. I have talked to numerous Republicans who tell me they think it was right that we focused on January 6. Don't be distracted. Don't cover up or make it more lacking in clarity by trying to deal with every problem that we may have. Focus on January 6.

Together, Mr. Katko and Mr. Thompson negotiated a bipartisan agreement to move forward with such a commission based on input from Democrats and Republicans. There are going to be a significant number of Republicans who vote for this bill.

Unfortunately, the truth has been a victim over the last couple of weeks. It was okay for Liz Cheney to tell the truth once, but when the former President of the United States kept telling a lie, and she said that is a lie each time that he said it, well, that was not appropriate, so she was removed. But the truth was removed with her. See no evil, hear no evil.

The commission, as a result of Ranking Member Katko's participation in these discussions, will be equally composed, as I said. It will have subpoena power that will be shared by both sides. I was pleased that we reached a bipartisan agreement and sad for this institution, for this country, for the American people who must think: Well, can't you agree on anything?

The minority leader got what he asked for, yet he won't take yes for an answer. Trump does not want this commission. That can be my only explanation.

Throughout my career, both in the State senate for 12 years, as president of the Senate, and here in this body for 40, I think I am known on the other side of the aisle as somebody you can work with. I hope that is the case because I think that is the way Americans want us to work.

President Trump opposes this commission. I am not sure why. It is deeply disappointing that there is a division among Republicans about whether to support the ranking member who worked hard to get to this place and got what the minority leader asked for, except for the distraction, except for the dissembling. He didn't get that. But he got everything else.

Mr. Speaker, I hope my Republican colleagues will think not about their politics, not about the former President, not about themselves. I hope they will think of the country, of this Congress, of this House. As they do so, I hope they say to themselves: We will vote for this legislation.

What if George Bush had said we shouldn't have a 9/11 Commission, perhaps out of fear that somehow the administration would have been perceived as being responsible for 9/11? They weren't. Wouldn't all of us have said: What are you talking about that we are not going to have a commission to see how we can protect the Capitol and why this Capitol was stopped from doing the work of our democracy?

This legislation is going to pass. It is going to pass on a bipartisan basis, and I want to thank Mr. Katko for having the courage and the integrity to stand up, fighting for what the minority leader asked for.

I say to Mr. Thompson that that is the funny thing about this. I hope Senators will think long and hard about rejecting this bipartisan compromise to move forward, to protect our democracy, and to lift it up as the beacon that it has been and needs to be not only for our own citizens but for all the world.

How sad that day was as the world watched, as TVs showed them America's citadel of democracy and of freedom invaded by its own citizens.

Vote ``yes.'' It is the right thing to do.

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