[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 162 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 162

 Providing for enclosing the galleries of the House of Representatives 
              with a transparent and substantial material.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 6, 1999

  Mr. Burton of Indiana submitted the following resolution; which was 
           referred to the Committee on House Administration

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Providing for enclosing the galleries of the House of Representatives 
              with a transparent and substantial material.

    Resolved,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) The first bombing of the Capitol occurred in the Senate 
        Wing of the building in 1915 by a man protesting United States 
        involvement in World War I.
            (2) On March 1, 1954, 4 Puerto Rican nationalists armed 
        with .38 caliber revolvers entered the visitors' gallery and 
        fired a total of 19 shots at the Members and staff while the 
        House of Representatives was in session and conducting a vote. 
        5 members of Congress were struck by the gunfire.
            (3) In 1971, a group named the Weather Underground planted 
        an explosive device in a first-floor restroom on the Senate 
        side of the Capitol to protest United States military 
        involvement in the Vietnam War. The device detonated early in 
        the morning when the building was closed, causing extensive 
        damages but no injuries.
            (4) In 1983, a man carrying an improvised explosive device 
        strapped to his body entered the House gallery while the House 
        was in session. He was able to construct the device in such a 
        manner as to avoid detection during security screening. During 
        a floor debate, the man attempted to detonate the device until 
        United States Capitol Police officers restrained the man, 
        removed him from the gallery, and secured the device.
            (5) In 1983, a group named the Armed Resistance Unit 
        planted an explosive device on the second floor of the Senate 
        wing of the Capitol, outside the Senate Chamber. The group was 
        protesting United States military involvement in Central 
        America. The device detonated at 11:00 p.m. causing extensive 
        damage to the area around the Chamber. At the time, the Senate 
        recessed early and no one was in the area when the blast 
        occurred.
            (6) On July 24, 1998, a lone gunman entered the Document 
        Door of the Capitol and immediately shot and killed the officer 
        posted at that location. The gunman then exchanged gunfire with 
        another officer before fleeing further into the building where 
        he engaged in another gunfight in which a second officer was 
        killed. The gunman was shot several times during this incident.
            (7) The House and Senate visitors galleries are the 
        frequent target of demonstrators. Whenever the House or Senate 
        is debating a subject which is controversial or polarizing, it 
        is not uncommon for disturbances to occur in the galleries in 
        the form of civil disobedience.
            (8) Since August 1996, the United States Capitol Police 
        have arrested 3 persons in the House galleries and 15 persons 
        in the Senate galleries for disrupting Congress.
            (9) 7,000,000 to 10,000,000 tourists visit the Capitol 
        complex annually.
            (10) In 1997, the Capitol hosted more than 2,000 American 
        and foreign dignitaries, and was the site for nearly 300 
        scheduled demonstrations.
            (11) In addition to lawmakers and their staff, a sizable 
        number of journalists, lobbyists, and service personnel also 
        work within the Capitol complex.
            (12) These incidents and the amount of visitors and 
        personnel present in the Capitol have prompted increases in the 
        level of security afforded the Capitol complex.

SEC. 2. ENCLOSURE OF HOUSE GALLERY.

    (a) In General.--The Architect of the Capitol shall enclose the 
galleries of the House of Representatives with a transparent and 
substantial material, and shall install equipment so that the 
proceedings on the floor of the House will be clearly audible in the 
galleries.
    (b) Authorization.--There shall be paid out of the applicable 
accounts of the House of Representatives such sums as may be reasonably 
necessary to carry out this resolution.
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