[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 169 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 169

Commending the officers of the United States Capitol Police Department, 
  the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington, DC, and other law 
enforcement personnel for their selfless and heroic service in defense 
of American democracy in responding to the assault on the United States 
           Capitol by domestic terrorists on January 6, 2021.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 26, 2021

 Ms. Jackson Lee (for herself, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Mr. Neal, 
 Mr. Cohen, Ms. McCollum, Ms. Johnson of Texas, Ms. Wilson of Florida, 
 Mr. Vargas, Ms. Sewell, Ms. Strickland, Ms. Williams of Georgia, and 
 Mr. Sablan) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
 the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on 
   House Administration, and Education and Labor, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
  of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
                               concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Commending the officers of the United States Capitol Police Department, 
  the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington, DC, and other law 
enforcement personnel for their selfless and heroic service in defense 
of American democracy in responding to the assault on the United States 
           Capitol by domestic terrorists on January 6, 2021.

Whereas the United States Capitol Police dates back to 1800 when Congress moved 
        from Philadelphia to Washington, DC, and a lone watchman was hired to 
        protect the Capitol Building;
Whereas, in 1827, President John Quincy Adams asked that a regular Capitol 
        police force be established and on May 2, 1828, Congress passed an Act 
        that expanded the police regulations of the city of Washington, DC, to 
        include the Capitol and Capitol Square;
Whereas the United States Capitol Police expanded its force after the terrorist 
        attacks on September 11, 2001, and again following the historic merger 
        with the Library of Congress Police in 2009;
Whereas in addition to the more than 2,000 sworn members of the force, the 
        United States Capitol Police Department has over 350 civilian personnel 
        who provide operational and administrative support and its diverse 
        workforce is comprised of employees from nearly all 50 States and the 
        United States territories;
Whereas the United States Capitol Police embodies the best in American policing 
        and serve as a model in security, urban crime prevention, dignitary 
        protection, specialty response capabilities, and homeland security;
Whereas as ambassadors of Congress, officers of the United States Capitol Police 
        Department are often the first face that visitors and employees 
        encounter, leaving a lasting impression that is reflective of the 
        legislative branch and its role in America's democracy;
Whereas officers of the United States Capitol Police Department each day proudly 
        protect the legislative process, the symbol of the Nation's democracy, 
        the people who carry out the process, and the millions of visitors who 
        travel here to see democracy in action;
Whereas there is no finer example of the selfless devotion to duty, love of 
        country, and fidelity to their oath to preserve, protect, and defend the 
        Constitution of the officers of the United States Capitol Police 
        Department's than their valiant, heroic, and courageous response to the 
        assault on the Capitol Building by thousands of domestic terrorists, 
        insurrectionists, and rioters sent there by then-President of the United 
        States to ``fight like hell'' to disrupt and derail the constitutionally 
        required Joint Meeting of Congress to open, count, and publicly confirm 
        the vote tally of the Presidential electors and announce the persons who 
        had been elected President and Vice President of the United States on 
        January 6, 2021;
Whereas the District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser and the Metropolitan Police 
        Department have a distinguished record of protecting all groups, 
        regardless of their beliefs, who come to the Nation's capital to 
        exercise their First Amendment rights peaceably to assemble, and to 
        petition the Government for a redress of grievances;
Whereas at the direction of Mayor Bowser, and in advance of the scheduled 
        demonstrations, mutual aid was requested by the Metropolitan Police 
        Department from several area police departments to be on standby in the 
        District, including neighboring law enforcement departments, the 
        Metropolitan Transit Police and non-law enforcement agencies such as the 
        District's Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency and the 
        Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department;
Whereas the sustained assault on the Capitol precipitated an equally 
        unprecedented response, necessitating the urgent request of the United 
        States Capitol Police for the Metropolitan Police Department to come 
        defend the Capitol to which the Metropolitan Police Department responded 
        immediately with several Civil Disturbance Unit Platoons and proceeded 
        to deploy to the west front of the Capitol and arrived within minutes;
Whereas the violent mob overran protective measures at the Capitol and by 1:50 
        p.m., the Metropolitan Police Department had declared the assembly to be 
        a riot and immediately began working to achieve the objectives of 
        stopping domestic terrorists from entering the Capitol Building and 
        removing those that were already inside, secure a perimeter so that the 
        Capitol could be cleared for lawmakers to resume the Joint Meeting of 
        Congress to demonstrate to the Nation and the world the robustness and 
        vitality of America's democracy, and making arrests of anyone violating 
        the law;
Whereas during the height of the siege of the Capitol, approximately 850 
        Metropolitan Police Department members were at the Capitol, with another 
        250 in the area to directly support the response and aftermath;
Whereas people around the country and the world were shocked and moved by the 
        video of a Metropolitan Police Department officer being beaten by a 
        crowd of insurgents, including one wielding an American flag, and of 
        another in agony as he was crushed between a door and a riot shield but 
        also awed by their bravery in the face of this unprovoked and vicious 
        attack, bravery that was matched that day by countless other unheralded 
        Metropolitan Police Department officers;
Whereas the siege on the Capitol resulted in one of the worst days of injuries 
        for law enforcement in the United States since the September 11, 2001, 
        terrorist attacks;
Whereas officers of the United States Capitol Police Department, the 
        Metropolitan Police Department of Washington, DC, and other uniformed 
        law enforcement officers stood their ground in defense of American 
        democracy while being attacked by the angry mob of domestic terrorists 
        with metal pipes, discharged chemical irritants, and other weapons;
Whereas at least 138 officers, 73 from the United States Capitol Police 
        Department, and 65 from the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington 
        DC, sustained injuries during the attack on the Capitol Building, 
        several of whom required hospitalization;
Whereas the injuries sustained ranged from bruises and lacerations to more 
        serious damage such as concussions, rib fractures, burns, and even a 
        mild heart attack;
Whereas one United States Capitol Police Department officer died from injuries 
        sustained while physically engaging with protesters and two officers 
        involved in the response have died by suicide;
Whereas dozens, if not hundreds, of officers whom law enforcement officials 
        estimate will suffer in years to come from post-traumatic stress 
        disorder as will the dozens of law enforcement officers who contracted 
        the coronavirus from the unmasked domestic terrorists and rioters who 
        stormed the Capitol;
Whereas at least 38 Capitol Police officers have tested positive or were exposed 
        to the coronavirus as were nearly 200 National Guard personnel who were 
        deployed to protect the Capitol;
Whereas the seven hours between the urgent call for help from the Capitol Police 
        to the Metropolitan Police Department and the resumption of work by both 
        Houses of Congress will be indelibly etched in the memories of every law 
        enforcement officer who was on the scene, as it is in the minds of the 
        Senators, Representatives, congressional and support staff, and members 
        of the media corps who were forced to seek safety behind locked doors; 
        and
Whereas despite being overwhelmed and outnumbered, the indomitable forces of 
        American democracy, symbolized by the resolve of the officers of the 
        United States Capitol Police Department, prevailed and the seditious 
        attack was quelled, the Capitol Building preserved, and the lives of 
        Senators and Representatives protected, as well as those of 
        congressional and support staff, and order was restored so that the 
        Joint Meeting of Congress resumed and timely completed its 
        constitutionally required duty of counting and announcing the votes of 
        the Presidential electors, an essential step in the peaceful transfer of 
        power that has been a hallmark of American democracy and an example to 
        the world for more than two centuries: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) conveys the thanks and appreciation of a grateful 
        Nation to the officers of the United States Capitol Police 
        Department, the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington, 
        DC, and other law enforcement personnel for their selfless and 
        heroic service in defense of American democracy in responding 
        to the assault on the United States Capitol by domestic 
        terrorists on January 6, 2021;
            (2) encourages all educational and media institutions 
        throughout the United States to teach and celebrate the story 
        of the heroism of the officers of the United States Capitol 
        Police Department, the Metropolitan Police Department, and all 
        other law enforcement officers who, out of true faith and 
        allegiance to the Constitution of the United States, selflessly 
        risked their lives to protect the Capitol Building and its 
        personnel, the Congress, and the spirit and fact of democracy 
        in America; and
            (3) calls upon all Americans to read, celebrate, and revere 
        the Constitution of the United States, fidelity to which is the 
        best means of forming a more perfect union, establishing 
        justice, ensuring domestic tranquility, providing for the 
        common defense, promoting the general welfare, and securing the 
        blessing of liberty to them and their posterity.
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