[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 138 (Tuesday, September 29, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2392]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


         HONORING THE SERVICE OF THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS POLICE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ROBERT A. BRADY

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 29, 2009

  Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania. Madam Speaker, as Chairman of the 
Committee on House Administration in conjunction with Ranking Member 
Daniel Lungren, we want to take a few moments to recognize and say 
thank you to the Library of Congress Police, who will be formally 
merged into the U.S. Capitol Police force on October 1, 2009.
  The Library of Congress, founded by Congress in 1800, is not only the 
Nation's oldest federal cultural institution and research arm of the 
Congress, it is an unparalleled multimedia world resource containing 
more than 142 million items in its collections with more and more 
information in digital form, including numerous documents concerning 
the founding of the Nation and its history.
  The Library's collections, buildings, and dedicated staff are widely 
known and respected and protecting these resources has been both the 
mission and achievement of the Library of Congress Police. Security at 
the Library, like other U.S. public institutions, includes protecting 
facilities, staff and visitors. Uniquely, the Library of Congress must 
also protect--for the present and future use of Congress and the 
Nation--the largest, richest and most diverse collection of recorded 
knowledge ever assembled.
  In the early days, Library of Congress buildings and grounds were 
policed by building guards commissioned as special policemen. In 1950 
the Librarian of Congress was given statutory authority to designate 
Library of Congress special police as employees of the Library. In 1987 
Congress authorized that the Library Police rank structure and pay be 
made comparable to the Capitol Police and began in the 1990's 
considering whether the two police forces should be merged. Over time, 
the Library Police became an integral and critical part of the 
Library's interlocking structure to protect not only people and 
buildings but the priceless collections from a variety of threats. With 
the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, the 1998 shootings of the Capitol 
Police officers at the Capitol and especially after the September 11 
terrorist attacks, Congress mandated significant security upgrades in 
the Capitol complex, including the Library of Congress. Finally, in the 
interest of security uniformity, the President signed into law PL 110-
178 in 2008, formally merging the Capitol and Library of Congress 
police forces, providing, after a transition period, for completion by 
October 1, 2009.
  Over many years, the Library Police have provided exemplary security 
and law enforcement for the Library of Congress. Library Police have 
demonstrated the highest level of dedication and excellence in both 
fulfilling their public safety mission and protecting the Library's 
irreplaceable collections.
  As the force is now merged into the Capitol Police, it marks the end 
of the storied era of the Library of Congress Police as a distinct 
entity.
  We ask our colleagues to thank them. We want every member of the 
force, past and present, to know how much we in the Congress have 
valued their service and professionalism.

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