Increase in Retirement Age of United States Capitol Police Officers

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, let me begin by offering my appreciation and thanks to the gentlewoman from Oklahoma, my friend Mrs. Bice, for her leadership. I extend my appreciation as well to the chair of the Committee on House Administration, Bryan Steil, for his authorship and his partnership in advancing this bill.

I rise in strong support of H.R. 8364, a bill that, as Mrs. Bice indicated, would increase the age at which Capitol Police officers may serve from 60 to 65 when granted a retirement age waiver by the Capitol Police Board.

The men and women of the United States Capitol Police have one of the most critical and demanding jobs in the legislative branch. This was once again underscored over the weekend when Capitol Police officers acted to protect Members of this House, including the Speaker and other members of leadership from the latest attempt at political violence-- this time at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner.

We are all grateful that everyone who attended the dinner was able to leave safely.

Capitol Police officers secure the Capitol campus, investigate threats, provide protective details, screen visitors, respond to emergencies, investigate crimes, monitor demonstrations, secure major events, and more.

They do this all in an era of dramatically increased threats and strain on the department, and I commend Chief Sullivan and former Chief Manger for their diligent work rebuilding the force from the low point it reached after January 6. I am pleased that the department has since grown to more than 2,300 sworn officers. This is meaningful progress, but there is still much more work to do.

The large cohort of officers who joined the department after the September 11 attacks is now reaching retirement age. That is kind of hard to imagine, but that is the case.

The department cannot afford to lose those experienced, fully capable officers solely because they reach an arbitrary age threshold.

This bill does not change the statutory retirement age of 57, but it does give the Capitol Police Board discretion to allow an officer to continue serving until the age of 65 when doing so is in the public interest.

I want to make sure this is clear to people: Nothing in this bill lessens the board's responsibility to ensure officers granted exemptions remain fit for duty--fully fit and capable of meeting the physical and operational demands of the job.

This is a prudent, targeted step to preserve experience, maintain staffing, and help ensure the department has the workforce it needs.

For those reasons, I support the bill and urge my colleagues to do the same. I thank my colleague and friend Mrs. Bice, as well as Chairman Steil, for their leadership.

Mr. Speaker, this is an important, prudent, thoughtful measure, and it will add to the safety and protection of the people in the Capitol complex, whether it is Members, staff, or visitors. That is something I know both sides of the aisle deeply appreciate and support.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source