[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1566 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1566

To permit employees of the House of Representatives who are authorized 
 to possess certain weapons in the District of Columbia to bring such 
 weapons into House Office Buildings for secure storage, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 10, 2023

  Mr. Steube introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on 
  Transportation and Infrastructure, 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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To permit employees of the House of Representatives who are authorized 
 to possess certain weapons in the District of Columbia to bring such 
 weapons into House Office Buildings for secure storage, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Safe Storage 
Lockers for House Office Buildings Act''.
    (b) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) In 2021, there were 2,654 violent crime incidents in 
        the District of Columbia, and 2,900 offenses reported in the 
        District of Columbia by 2 law enforcement agencies that 
        submitted National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) data 
        which covered the entire population of the District.
            (2) Many employees of the House of Representatives who work 
        in House Office Buildings in the District of Columbia commute 
        to and from their offices by walking, and many have themselves 
        been victims of these crimes in the District of Columbia.
            (3) Individuals in the District of Columbia are authorized 
        under District of Columbia law to carry and use certain weapons 
        for self-defense, including self-defense sprays, stun guns, and 
        concealed firearms. However, District of Columbia and Federal 
        law prohibit individuals from carrying these weapons inside a 
        Federal building.
            (4) As a result, employees of the House of Representatives 
        who work in House Office Buildings in the District of Columbia 
        are prohibited from carrying weapons inside the buildings in 
        which they work, even if these employees are authorized under 
        District of Columbia law to carry and use these weapons for 
        self-defense outside these buildings.

SEC. 2. AUTHORIZING HOUSE EMPLOYEES TO BRING CERTAIN SELF-DEFENSE 
              WEAPONS INTO HOUSE OFFICE BUILDINGS.

    (a) Authorization.--An individual who is an employee of the House 
of Representatives may bring a weapon described in subsection (b) into 
a House office building if--
            (1) the individual is authorized under the laws of the 
        District of Columbia to carry the weapon outside of the 
        building;
            (2) immediately prior to entering the building, the 
        individual is carrying the weapon in compliance with such laws;
            (3) the individual enters the building through an external 
        pedestrian entrance;
            (4) upon entering the building with the weapon, the 
        individual leaves the weapon in a storage locker operated by 
        the United States Capitol Police under section 3 while the 
        individual remains in the building; and
            (5) after retrieving the weapon from the locker, the 
        individual leaves the building immediately.
    (b) Weapons Described.--The weapons described in this subsection 
are as follows:
            (1) A self-defense spray described in section 212 of the 
        Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975 (sec. 7-2502.12, D.C. 
        Official Code).
            (2) A stun gun described in section 101(17A) of the 
        Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975 (sec. 7-2501.01(17A), 
        D.C. Official Code).
            (3) A firearm described in section 101(9) of the Firearms 
        Control Regulations Act of 1975 (sec. 7-2501.01(9), D.C. 
        Official Code).

SEC. 3. PROVISION OF SAFE STORAGE LOCKERS AT BUILDING ENTRANCES.

    (a) Responsibilities of Capitol Police Board.--Not later than 180 
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Capitol Police 
Board shall design, install, and operate storage lockers at external 
pedestrian entrances to each House office building, which may be used 
while an employee of the House is in the building to safely store a 
weapon which the employee brings into the building under section 2, and 
from which the employee may retrieve the weapon when the employee 
leaves the building.
    (b) Regulations.--The Capitol Police Board shall promulgate such 
regulations as may be required to carry out this section.
    (c) Conforming Amendment.--Section 5104(e)(1)(A) of title 40, 
United States Code, is amended by striking ``except as authorized'' and 
inserting ``except as provided under the Safe Storage Lockers for House 
Office Buildings Act or as authorized''.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    (a) Employee of the House of Representatives.--In this Act, an 
``employee of the House of Representatives'' includes an intern 
(whether paid or unpaid) and a fellow assigned to an office of the 
House of Representatives.
    (b) House Office Building.--
            (1) In general.--In this Act, the term ``House office 
        building'' means any of the following:
                    (A) The Cannon House Office Building.
                    (B) The Longworth House Office Building.
                    (C) The Rayburn House Office Building.
                    (D) The Ford House Office Building.
                    (E) The O'Neill House Office Building.
                    (F) The House wing of the United States Capitol.
            (2) Exclusion of garages.--The term ``House office 
        building'' does not include a garage of a building described in 
        paragraph (1).
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