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Floor Speech

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Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Thank you, Senator Schumer, for your leadership and your work and your words today.

As I stand here, I look at the faces of the staff. I remember the moment when we were pushed out of this Chamber for security reasons. I remember the words of one staff member, Leigh, who yelled out: Take the boxes. Take the boxes. She was talking about the mahogany boxes that were filled with the electoral ballots because we knew they would be destroyed if they were left behind.

I remember my own staff--one of them is here today--hearing their stories of being in a closet, hiding in a closet with only forks that happened to be next door to protect themselves, right next to the doors where the insurrectionists had invaded.

I remember the staff throughout this building who were marooned in places and the faces of the police officers, the cuts on their faces, the anguish, and the words of Officer Dunn, who said, at the end of the day, that he had been called the N-word multiple times and that he had looked to his friends, as they collapsed in the Rotunda, and said: ``Is this America?''

``Is this America?''

The haunting words of the police officer on the police radio that was heard broadcast in the middle of the whole thing: ``Is there a plan?''

``Is there a plan?''

There were many breakdowns that day, but the biggest breakdown was the breakdown of our democracy; that some people actually felt that they could take the law into their own hands; that they could invade not just a building but our very Republic.

I look back at the words and the speeches that people gave that day, not only after the insurrection, but what was telling was what they said before it started. I think I would urge people to look at those speeches. That discussion that we were having about this had been raging for weeks and for months.

I remember standing at this very place right before we closed down the Senate because of the insurrection and going through the facts-- going through the facts about how President-Elect Biden at the time had won more votes than any President in history; the facts that 10 living Defense Secretaries had actually stood up at the time, including both of Donald Trump's Defense Secretaries, including people like Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld and William Cohen, and came together and said that the scurrilous attacks on our democracy must stop, and we must allow for the peaceful transition of power.

Then I looked at the very end of my remarks, and I ended with this right before we were invaded. I said this:

My friend Roy Blunt--

Whom I still have immense respect for what he did that evening.

My friend Roy Blunt, my fellow Rules Committee leader, many years ago, found a statue, a bust of a man at the top of a bookcase. He did research. He went to the historians. [And][a]ll he could find out was that no one knew who this guy was except that he was a cleric. Hence, the statue is called ``The Unknown Cleric.''

Now, at the time, our leaders [in this great place] thought this man important enough that they would warrant a statue for him, but today no one knows who he is. Senator Blunt's message to schoolkids and Senators alike that visit his office, when he shows them the statue: What we do here is more important than who we are.

And I ended with this:

Senators, what matters is not our futures, not our short- term destinies.

What matters is our democracy's destiny because I think many of us know [that] people will not know who we are 100 years from now or 200 years from now, but what they will know is this: They will know what we did today, how we voted today. [And] that is more important than who we are. [As someone once said,] [i]t is a Republic, if we can keep it.

``It is a Republic, if we can keep it.'' Those words ring more true now than they did a year ago because, as we know, the haunting shrieks of the police that day, the officer pinned between the doors at the hands of rioters--there were people who stood up for our Republic, and there were people who attacked our Republic.

I remember Captain Carneysha Mendoza, a 19-year veteran of the Capitol Police, who testified before the Rules Committee, who suffered chemical burns to her face while commanding the officers in the Rotunda while they struggled to hold the doors open.

Who can forget Officer Eugene Goodman, who after saving Senator Romney from walking directly into the mob, ran by himself to take on a group of rioters with his baton and then diverted that mob away from the Senate Chamber, allowing us to safely depart?

Mr. President, who can forget the image right there where you sit on that dais of the insurrectionists rifling through papers on people's desks, opening up their offices and desks?

Tragically, five officers who reported for duty have since passed away--five officers. You wonder why you see sad faces today on many people in this building who were their friends. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick died the day after the attack. Four other officers died in the days and months that followed--Capitol Police Officer Howard Liebengood, DC Metropolitan Police Officers Jeffrey Smith, Gunther Hashida, and Kyle DeFreytag.

Many more suffered physical injuries and even more sustained emotional trauma from the events of that day. We also remember, of course, Officer Billy Evans, who tragically died doing his job at his post in April.

Recognizing the sacrifice of those heroes to defend our democracy is the least we can do. Senator Blunt and I led legislation, with the support our leaders, honoring those who protected the Capitol on January 6 with the Congressional Gold Medal. It was an honor to stand with officers and their families in August as President Biden signed this bill into law.

We have made many, many improvements to the security of the Capitol. I think it is very important for staff and officers alike and those who work there to know that.

I want to thank Senator Schumer for his work in installing a new Sergeant at Arms, Karen Gibson, for the Senate. We have General Walker over in the House, and we have a new Police Chief, Chief Manger, who did an excellent job yesterday in describing the changes. We know there are many challenges ahead.

Last, but not least, is that we do not have enough police officers right now to fill vacancies so people are working double shifts; they are working vacations; they are canceling vacations. We have over 400 openings, an experience that many police departments throughout the country have right now, but one that is very important, and the Chief has committed to fill those vacancies.

But what have we done, the progress? Well, we have, one, gotten new personnel in. Two, we have passed a law in this Chamber and signed into law by President Biden that makes it easier for the Chief to call in the National Guard in the case of emergency. We have made sure that there are operational plans in place as there were this summer when major events occur.

One of the saddest memories of that day was the fact that 75 percent of the police officers asked to defend this Capitol were in plain clothes--75 percent. In many cases, they had less protective gear on than the invaders of the Capitol. That has changed--no more equipment that is going to be locked on a bus that they can't access. With Senator Leahy's leadership with Appropriations and Senator Shelby's leadership, we have been able to obtain more funding to get them the equipment that they need. All of those things are important.

But as Senator Schumer noted, the other piece of this is our democracy itself. And that means getting to the bottom of what happened. Something is happening right now with the House Select Committee that is working to get the facts. We would have loved to have an independent Commission like the 9/11 Commission to do that, but they are doing that work over in the House.

Yesterday, we heard from Attorney General Garland, who pledged to look at this at every level and to go where the facts will lead. Those were his words. Accountability at every level for what happened here is key, and it is the largest investigation we have seen in the history of America. Over 700 people have been charged. That is a big piece of this work as well--accountability.

As Senator Schumer noted, this is also about carrying on the torch of our democracy. The voting rights legislation that we are working on right now couldn't be more important because what was not accomplished with bear spray and bayonets has now been passed on to others to pass bills as we have seen in Wisconsin, where a bill actually passed that would have allowed for only one ballot dropoff box in the entire city of Milwaukee. That one was vetoed by Governor Evers. But others have passed in States like Georgia, in States like Texas. And across this country is a concerted effort to undermine our democracy.

So it is on us, when we take an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States, no matter what party we are in, to hold our democracy dear. It is a precious, precious thing and it is very fragile and it is in our hands to protect, just as our police officers protected it on January 6.

When you have 9,600 threats against Members of Congress--double what it has ever been in the past--that is not a small thing; that is January 6 continued. When you have election officials who have to leave their posts because, in the words of the election official from the city of Philadelphia, his own family was threatened, their names, their addresses, their house put out on the internet; Katie Hobbs, secretary of state in Arizona, receiving a voice mail saying: ``I am a hunter-- and I think you should be hunted;'' people in rural areas who are elected officials who cannot have the kind of security that people may have in this building--that is January 6 continued.

And we cannot forget our duty going forward. I will end with that image that I will always cherish and the hope that democracy will prevail. At 3:30 in the morning, when Senator Blunt and I and Vice President Pence took that long walk over to the House with the two young women with the mahogany box filled with the last of the electoral ballots up through Wyoming--there was broken glass on all sides; there was spray paint on statues. It was the same walk we had taken in the morning, which had been so joyful, the celebration of our democracy, so ceremonial--and there we were, the last ones left taking that walk into the House Chambers where we finished our job. So when I look back at that day, that is the lasting image; that in the end, democracy prevailed.

Two weeks later, there we were under that beautiful blue sky with leaders of both parties on that inaugural stage saying that, yes, our democracy stood tall. It brushed itself off, and we moved forward as one Nation under God, with liberty and justice for all, as we always do. And that is the spirit with which we must go forward in the coming weeks as we debate the importance--the importance--of keeping that democracy strong with election laws; that we continue to improve the security in this Capitol; and that we hold the people who did this not just to us, not just to this building but to our very Republic-- accountable for what they did.

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Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I want to recognize the heroic efforts of our staff, many of whom are here with us today; of our law enforcement who, in the face of overwhelming numbers and an unprecedented violent assault, valiantly placed their lives on the line for this Republic.

It is also an opportunity to remember to recommit ourselves to making sure nothing like this ever happens again. As President Biden said today, our democracy held. We, the people, endured; we, the people, prevailed.

And we devote this moment of silence to those who stood up, not only for this building, not only for the people that worked here, but for our very democracy itself.

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Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, we will be joined shortly by your colleague from the great State of Virginia, and I wanted to address some of the incredible work done by the Maryland and the Virginia National Guard, which was so important that day.

We have fixed a lot of the issues going forward about how they get called in, but that moment when they had to stand up, they did. So we really, truly appreciate their help, as well as other National Guards-- from as far away as New Jersey and as close as DC--for helping out that day. They made a critical difference.

I see the Senator from Michigan is here, and we thank him for his leadership of the Homeland Security Committee and the work that we did together in the aftermath of this insurrection to make sure something like this--and to guarantee to the staff and the officers in this Capitol that something like this never happens again.

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Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Oregon. We have had a day of tributes to those who work in the Capitol, those who protected us. We have had a day of reflection, and we have had a day of hope as we look to the future for our democracy that we hold with such care.

I want to thank the staff that was there that day. And for those of you--I am looking at the pages--who are new in the Senate, over the next few weeks, it is worth talking to one of the staff members who was here that day to hear their stories, to let them reflect on what happened to them, whether they were people who were assigned to the hallways or the trams or the cafeteria. What happened to them that day? The Sergeant at Arms, so many employees there who were here that day because this was the day of the peaceful transition of power in this Chamber and in the House. The Parliamentarian's office, those that work there--that was one of the most difficult moments, to walk into their office late in the morning, 4 in the morning. Senator Blunt and myself, when this was all done, after we had done our work with Vice President Pence and the House, we walked around downstairs. It was eerily quiet. There was no one there. And you walked into the rooms, and there was glass from people's personal photos in the Parliamentarian's office that cracked, things thrown on the floor, their personal belongings.

And you wondered: Why did they go in that office? Was it just a fluke? No, they actually understood where that office was. We later found out they knew exactly that that office was in charge of these electoral ballots and in charge that day of the proceedings and had a special place in our democracy. And they actually knew where that office was and deliberately went into that office and invaded that office.

Everyone from the Capitol physician to the floor staffs, both Democratic and Republican floor staffs, who were here that day, charged with making this day move like it had over and over and over again every 4 years when, no matter who wins, we go and we do our work that is demanded of us under the Constitution.

I remember, 4 years before that, my candidate certainly didn't win in 2016, but we went and we did our job. And I remember at the time, Vice President Biden was presiding over that proceeding because it was the end of his time as Vice President, just like Vice President Pence was involved this last time. And he did his job.

I think about what the Senators have talked about today, and we have heard from so many of our colleagues--Senator Warner and Van Hollen and Kaine talking about the National Guards of Virginia and Maryland and their police that came in--not planned that this was going to happen this day--and came in and helped protect the Capitol and, along with National Guards throughout our country, including from my own State of Minnesota, then stayed on for weeks and weeks and months and months until we could get the security in order in this place.

The Capitol Police--and so many of my colleagues, including Senator Booker, have shared the stories of the Capitol Police that day. And I know we have used some famous examples of those officers, but I think it is really important to note that every officer did something that mattered that day, some act of heroic duty, by doing their jobs.

We thank the work that has done by the staffs of our Rules Committee, who are here today--Senator Blunt's and my staff--as well as Homeland Security, with Senators Peters and Portman, who immediately took on the task of holding very public hearings about what went wrong on the security side and then the decisions to hire new leaders for our Sergeant at Arms; with Senator Schumer's work on that, as well as the police chief with Chief Manger, who testified at length yesterday in a very bipartisan hearing, actually, in the Rules Committee about the changes that have been made, the changes when it comes to equipment, as we remember that 75 percent of the officers that day were in plainclothes and only 25 percent had riot gear--the horrifying image of the riot gear locked onto a bus that no one could access while the Capitol was being invaded; the lack of a plan, in the words of the police officer broadcast on the police radio: Does anyone have a plan? Does anyone have a plan?

And, sadly, the answer was, literally, no. That has now changed, as the chief has told us, when events have happened in the last few months in the Capitol--plans in place, operational plans, drills that have been conducted in this Capitol.

The lack of resources, which had been demanded in the past, that Senator Leahy in the Appropriations Committee and Senator Shelby have come to the floor and have worked to get them the resources that they need.

But the challenges that still remain, the vacancies on the police force, people working double shifts and overtime and people not being able to take their vacation and be with their families because they are still working to protect our Capitol. And the police chief's pledge to work to recruit 200 or so more officers in just the next year with retention benefits and all the work that is being done.

The other piece of this that we heard a lot about today was accountability. We heard from Senator Durbin and members of the Judiciary Committee and Senator Booker about the need--and Senator Markey--for accountability. And this includes the select committee over in the House and the investigation that they are conducting with not just Democrats but also two very strong Republicans who have been willing to basically put their careers on the line because they believe so much in this democracy that we must get to the bottom of what happened.

The work going on in the Justice Department, which has now been, as of yesterday, as the Attorney General of the United States described to us, the biggest investigation in the history of America, because I don't think people had envisioned that we would have an attack like this, but we did.

Two hundred forty-four years of democracy--244 years of democracy-- that it is our charge to protect, and that is why you see this investigation. That is why you see over 700 people charged. This is why you see the Attorney General pledge to follow this to every level and to follow the facts to where they go.

We must remember, in the end, as my colleague from Oregon Senator Wyden has addressed, this is not just and was not just an attack on a building; it was an attack on our Republic.

I was looking back at the Inauguration Day and that beautiful moment with that blue sky, and there were little snowflakes coming down. I remember hearing the beautiful words of Amanda Gorman, in her gold coat, that day, with that amazing poem, the singing. I remember Garth Brooks singing ``Amazing Grace.'' I looked up at the sky and thought that anything and everything is possible and our democracy has prevailed.

I remember the words of Abraham Lincoln, actually, which I quoted in my brief speech that day, when he gave his first inaugural address in front of this Capitol. The dome was only partially constructed--it was braced by ropes of steel back then--and he promised he would finish it. He was actually criticized for spending funds during the Civil War on the dome, as it was somehow frivolous. To those critics, he replied: ``If people see the Capitol going on, it is a sign we intend the Union shall go on.''

When we gathered that day on that inaugural stage, there was still spray paint on the columns. They actually couldn't get it all out because the insurrectionists had first come to that platform because-- just as they knew what was going on in the Parliamentarian's Office, they targeted that platform because that is exactly where President Biden and Vice President Harris were going to receive their oaths of office. There were still traces of spray paint. The windows behind us weren't the real windows; they were makeshift windows. But we all gathered there. The President-elect, now President, would not have his inauguration in a bunker. Senator Blunt and I strongly believed that this should be a public event. As we stood out there, ``The Capitol shall go on''--that was the message we were sending to the country.

So what does that mean right now, a year later, this anniversary, ``The Capitol shall go on''? Yes, it means that we have better security, and we do better by our police officers, and we have their backs. It means that. We do better by the staff in this great building. Yes, it means we have accountability for the people who had the audacity to invade this Capitol and take the law into their own hands and commit acts of violence. But the other thing it has to mean a year later is that we carry on that torch of our democracy, as the Senator from Oregon explained, that we make sure our very democracy is protected.

(Ms. CORTEZ MASTO assumed the Chair.)

That means guaranteeing that people have the right to vote.

What was not accomplished that day with the bear spray and the bayonets and the flagpoles sadly carried on because these bills that have been introduced in so many States and passed across the country-- over 400 of them passed in many, many States across the country or proposed, seriously proposed, in others--bring us backwards. It basically says: You know what. Democracy--the people who propose these bills--is not about who votes for whom, regardless of who wins; it is about us choosing our voters and deciding haves and have-nots and who is going to be able to vote and who isn't going to be able to vote.

When you think about what the people of this country will do to preserve that right to vote--I think about those people in Wisconsin with homemade masks and garbage bags, standing in the pouring rain at the beginning of the pandemic just to exercise their right to vote.

I think about the veteran I met when we did our field hearing with Senators Warnock and Ossoff and Senators Merkley and Padilla down in Atlanta. This veteran told us that he had signed up to serve our country, and there wasn't a waiting line, but when he went to exercise his right to vote, he had to wait hours and hours--4, 5 hours--in line in the hot Sun just to exercise his right to vote. He told the stories of older people who had left because they couldn't stand the heat, they couldn't stand out there anymore.

That is not what our democracy is supposed to look like. It is not supposed to look like one ballot box in the entire county of Harris County, which includes Houston in Texas, over 5 million people with one ballot drop-off box. That is not our democracy.

But the American people in that 2020 election said: You know what. No matter what you do to us, we are going to go vote. And they voted in droves. They voted more votes than in the history of America. Part of that was because, because of the pandemic, changes were made to the law, including that some States took away ridiculous requirements that you have to get a notary public. Think about it--in the middle of a pandemic.

Right now, by the way, South Carolina has put this law back into effect. To get your mail-in ballot because you can't go vote in person because you have COVID, you have to have a notary public. There are stories reported in the news of people having notary publics, through the glass windows of hospitals, sign off on the application of ballots. All of that is designed, in the words of Reverend Warnock, so that some people don't allow some people to vote. That is what that is about.

So it is on us right now to carry on the democracy. And that feeling we had when the leaders of both parties all stood on that inaugural stage or when we took that last walk, Senator Blunt and Vice President Pence and I and the two young women with the mahogany box with the last of the electoral ballots--that feeling was a good one, and it was a celebration of joy for our country and the peaceful transition of power.

As pointed out in our speeches on the Senate floor right after the insurrection--I remember Senator Shaheen standing right there talking about how the world is watching our democracy. Well, this is another moment. The world is watching as we see dictators coming into power in other countries around the world, as we see the former President still out there rallying the troops around this Big Lie that he somehow won the election when every single local election official in this country knows that is not true. This is our moment to stand up to that because the people are watching. Our kids are watching. And the democracy stands in the breach. This is our moment. We must pass the Freedom to Vote Act, and we must uphold our democracy.

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