[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 20 (Wednesday, February 3, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E95-E96]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 INTRODUCTION OF THE UNITED STATES COMMISSION ON AN OPEN SOCIETY WITH 
                          SECURITY ACT OF 2021

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 3, 2021

  Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, today, I introduce the United States 
Commission on an Open Society with Security Act of 2021, which would 
create a commission to investigate how we can maintain our democratic 
traditions while actively responding to the real and substantial 
threats posed by foreign and domestic terrorism.
  The impetus for this commission was born after the Oklahoma City 
bombing in 1995, grew in importance after the terrorist attacks on 
September 11, 2001, and has reached peak urgency since the 
insurrectionist attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. The 
succession of tragic events endured by our nation has led to a series 
of sweeping security increases that are deemed both necessary and 
temporary in the moment but create lasting security infrastructure that 
is difficult to dismantle and infringes on our open, democratic 
society.
  We must acknowledge and accept that we have entered into an era of 
constant internal and external threats, requiring ever-higher levels of 
security for our people and public spaces. What we thought would be a 
temporary infringement on our open society has turned into a permanent 
restriction on how our citizens interact with each other and our 
democratic institutions. Because emergencies

[[Page E96]]

typically dictate security decisions, essential discussions on the 
proper balance between national security, individual rights and the 
freedoms enjoyed in an open society have been repeatedly deferred.
  My bill would ensure that this long overdue discussion takes place in 
a public forum with experts drawn from across the spectrum. To date, 
security planning has been delegated almost exclusively to security, 
intelligence and military experts. Although their input is 
indispensable, they cannot be expected to accurately consider the 
externalities that lie outside of their expertise. To strike a better 
balance that gives sufficient importance to our democratic traditions, 
we need to invite experts from diverse fields to the same table to work 
together. Therefore, the commission would be composed not only of 
security, intelligence and military experts, but also experts from such 
fields as business, architecture, technology, law, city planning, art, 
engineering, philosophy, history, sociology and psychology.
  We have used commissions before to deeply investigate and address 
unprecedented challenges, such as the National Commission on Terrorist 
Attacks Upon the United States (also known as the 9/11 Commission), the 
Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States 
Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction (also known as the Silberman Robb 
Commission) and the Kerner Commission following riots that swept 
American cities in the 1960s. The commission created by this bill would 
seek to avert a crisis in basic freedoms before their infringement 
becomes entrenched. We cannot allow security protocols to proliferate 
without informed civilian oversight and a thorough analysis of 
alternatives that might better safeguard freedom and commerce.
  Furthermore, we have had decades to develop strategies and 
technologies for smarter security that can fulfill the responsibility 
of safety without depriving our citizens of access to institutions and 
personal liberty. Thus far, we have either relied on imprecise medieval 
approaches like crude barriers or on overexpansive new technologies 
that treat privacy like a privilege instead of a right. We can, and 
must, do better.
  As the home of our federal government, the District of Columbia's 
residents have suffered a disproportionate infringement on public 
spaces, personal rights and freedoms in the name of security. Public 
spaces that serve as the heart of our local communities have become 
restricted zones characterized by a heavy security presence, with 
individuals liable to be reprimanded for walking on the wrong side of 
the street or marveling too long at the architecture. Barriers such as 
walls and fences are touted as essential security features while our 
citizens are left peering at their democracy from a distance.
  Security is not only about reducing lives lost and dollars cost. It 
is also about safeguarding the institutions, freedoms and values that 
anchor our country, not only for ourselves but for future generations. 
The social compact between government and the people should not be the 
result of a series of hostage negotiations. We must resume reasoned and 
deliberative decision-making, beginning with a high-level commission 
composed of experts from diverse disciplines charged with developing a 
new course that will protect both our people and our precious 
democratic institutions and traditions.

                          ____________________