Emergency Security Supplemental to Respond to January 6th Appropriations Act, 2021

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 409, I call up the bill (H.R. 3237) making emergency supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2021, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the Emergency Security Supplemental to Respond to January 6th Appropriations Act.

Like many of us in the Capitol community, I am still shaken by the violence and terror of that day and the tragedies in its aftermath: the death of Officer Brian Sicknick, the Good Friday attack that killed Officer Billy Evans, and the emotional trauma that has led to the deaths of Officer Howie Liebengood and Metropolitan Police Department Officer Jeffrey Smith by suicide.

Congress owes it to every single person who works in or visits the United States Capitol to provide funding to recover, rebuild, and keep all who serve in the legislative branch safe, healthy, and secure.

The Appropriations Committee has acted very carefully to construct this package. We conducted a bipartisan briefing in January, discussed the issue at 12 subcommittee hearings, and closely reviewed the recommendations of Task Force 1-6 Capitol Security Review, led by Lieutenant General Russel Honore and comprised of senior, retired law enforcement officials and military leaders. We have also heard from inspectors general and consulted security experts in and out of government.

This bill is narrowly tailored to respond to January 6 and to protect the Capitol going forward. It contains $1.9 billion in emergency funding to reimburse the National Guard and District of Columbia for their response; provide the Capitol Police with overtime pay, retention bonuses, equipment replacement, and wellness and trauma support; ensures the Department of Justice can prosecute every person who attacked law enforcement and ransacked this building; provides bonuses and help to custodial staff; and it renames the Capitol Police Wellness Center in the memory of Officer Howie Liebengood.

As recommended by the Capitol Security Review, this legislation protects the Capitol by providing resources to harden windows and doors; construct security screening vestibules; install new cameras; and provide specialized training, riot control equipment, and body cameras for the Capitol Police.

To augment the Capitol Police, the legislation establishes and funds a dedicated quick reaction force of National Guard personnel, another recommendation of the Capitol Security Review.

This legislation also bolsters security for Members of Congress, with dedicated funding for enhanced security and threat assessments, coordinated Member travel security, and upgrades to security in district offices.

It has, most importantly, won the endorsement of the Capitol Police, to meet its evolving mission, and Lieutenant General Honore urged Congress to pass this funding.

We all sit in this Chamber, and we lived with the violent assault on our democracy and our lives. We must act now to fulfill our obligations and also our oath of office.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Roybal-Allard), the chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Homeland Security.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I respectfully say to the gentlewoman from Washington State that the situation we face is dire. The Capitol Police do not have the equipment they need to secure the Capitol, and other security vulnerabilities have not been resolved.

Also, the Capitol Police force is reeling as January 6, the deaths of Officers Liebengood and Evans, overtime, and other issues continue to take a toll on officers' mental health. We cannot wait until the report of a commission.

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ryan), the chairman of the Legislative Branch Subcommittee.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the gentleman from Ohio.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 15 seconds to the gentleman from Ohio.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I am happy to respond to the gentlewoman from Washington State, but, quite frankly, that is an issue that falls within the jurisdiction of the House Administration Committee. The chair is Zoe Lofgren. It is my understanding that Chairman Lofgren is, in fact, addressing that issue.

I concur that we have to deal with the issue of the Capitol board, but it does not fall within the jurisdiction of the Appropriations Committee.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I just want to remind the gentleman that the last time a supplemental bill was brought before the Appropriations Committee was in 2009, under the direction of Chairman David Obey.

I also want to make a point that it did take an inordinate amount of time for reinforcements to come and assist the overrun Capitol Police. To have that not happen again, the Capitol security review, General Honore recommended a dedicated force ready to respond to any incident, just as we have the D.C. Air National Guard, which has a mission to protect the region's airspace.

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Maine (Ms. Pingree), the chair of the Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Quigley), the chairman of the Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lofgren), the chairperson of the Committee on House Administration.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. DeLAURO. I yield the gentlewoman from California an additional 30 seconds.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I would hope the gentlewoman from Washington State would put her frustration aside--we all get frustrated in this body by so many things--and vote to support the folks who took care of us that day to deal with their backpay and a variety of other issues that were important.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. DeLAURO. I yield to the gentlewoman from California.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, the point is, we are reimbursing the costs that were incurred that day.

I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Stanton).

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Let me just try to address a couple of issues that have been raised here during this debate.

Madam Speaker, I want to recount the Committee on Appropriations has worked for months to gather information to inform this bill. There were 12 subcommittee hearings. Actually, legislative branch, as the gentlewoman from Washington State knows, had at least eight hearings, and every subcommittee held more than one committee hearing.

In addition to that, other committees, House Administration, Committee on Oversight Reform, all had hearings with regard to this issue and the path forward. Beginning in April, Committee on Appropriations engaged in intense good-faith negotiations with our Republican counterparts. And unfortunately, it appears, I believe, that the leadership has prevented them from reaching an agreement in a timely manner.

Madam Speaker, I would just mention that the minority leader, he looked to sufficient time included in an end-of-the-year funding bill to strengthen the security of the Capitol complex. So in truth, the view was not to do it, not to continue in negotiation, but in fact, to delay a decision on this until the end of the year. We cannot wait in order to be able to effectuate security of this Capitol for all who work here and all who visit here.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Virginia (Ms. Wexton), a member of the Committee on Appropriations.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Espaillat), a member of the Appropriations Committee.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

I am disappointed that the gentlewoman from Washington State will not find her way to vote for the bill. We have worked on many issues together on the Appropriations Committee, yes, in fact, in meetings about the Capitol Police Board and other efforts. As it has been stated, we worked for months on the Appropriations Committee with numerous hearings in order to be able to engage on a bipartisan basis.

Unfortunately, the leadership of the minority leader, I believe, saw that the direction that this bill should go in is in the end of the year. In that case, we cannot begin to fix the problems that occurred.

Madam Speaker, I remember January 6, as we all do. I sat in the Gallery. I sat right up there as we counted the electoral votes, which was our constitutional duty, in order to certify the election of the President of the United States.

I was here, at the podium, when the Capitol policeman said, The rioters have breached the Capitol. They are in the rotunda. They are on their way to the House Chamber, to those doors right there, those doors that were shattered and smashed that day, and where there were barricades that were put up against it.

We were told to grab a gas mask. I didn't know we had gas masks here. We did that, and no sooner than that, we were told we have to evacuate, you make your way.

I can still trace my steps around the perimeter of this gallery, all the way around, going underneath these barriers here. All of us, Democrats, Republicans, and members of the press who were there that day, and young people who came here to work, we were together. We were holding on to one another because we knew there was imminent danger.

I won't ever forget us getting around to that side of the gallery when the Capitol Police said to hit the floor because of gunshots-- gunshots. We all hit the floor, Democrats and Republicans, at the order of the Capitol Police, to protect us from what was going on that day.

As I lay on the floor with very little juice in my cell phone, I called my husband. I didn't want to say to him, ``I love you,'' because it brought back to me the remembrance of 9/11 and those last words that people uttered. I just said: ``I am fine. I am going to be evacuated. Call the kids and let them know it is okay.''

This bill is not about politics. It is not about settling scores. It is about ensuring that every person who comes onto the Capitol Grounds is safe and is protected.

The funding is not optional. This vote is not a show vote. It is about protecting the seat of democracy and the men, the women, and the young people who work here.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to do the right thing and pass this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source