[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 64 (Wednesday, April 14, 2021)]
[House]
[Page H1740]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 RECOGNIZING U.S. CAPITOL POLICE FORCE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Maryland (Mr. Hoyer) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, in March, the House passed legislation to 
award a Congressional Gold Medal to the men and women of the U.S. 
Capitol Police for their heroism on January 6 and for their daily 
efforts to protect the institutions of our democracy.
  On April 3, once again, we saw an example, of not only the dangers in 
which they place themselves through their service, but also the courage 
they bring to that service.
  In the short span of fewer than 100 days, the U.S. Capitol force lost 
three members as a result of attacks on the Capitol complex. Yesterday, 
we honored one of those Capitol policemen, Billy Evans. But in a real 
sense, we honored every member of the United States Capitol Police.
  Some years ago, I lost a member of the Capitol Police who lived in my 
district, J.J. Chestnut. Wendy, his wife, was at the ceremony yesterday 
for Billy Evans. That was in 1998. He and Officer Gibson lost their 
lives in defending this Capitol on that date. And while a Congressional 
Gold Medal is a very fitting tribute, it can neither lessen the grief 
felt by their fellow officers nor reduce the sense of unease that so 
many of them must still be feeling today.
  Mr. Speaker, this has been a challenging time for the Congress and 
for all of us, but it certainly has been a time of challenge for the 
Capitol Police force. And surely the force will be going through a 
period of change and adaptation for some time to come, as will all of 
us who serve here in the Capitol complex.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to talk a moment on this floor to say thank you 
for those who still stand watch at the doors and the vehicle barriers, 
who patrol the neighborhoods and the office buildings, who sit ready to 
respond quickly and courageously to any emergency, never knowing what 
the next alarm might bring.
  Mr. Speaker, in particular, I thank the men and women who have served 
on the security detail that the Capitol Police have assigned to me in 
my role as majority leader. You get to know them as friends, as 
protectors, and as family.
  Since being elected to House leadership, I have been privileged to 
know some of the best of the force. They are representative of an 
extraordinary group of people. In order to protect their safety and 
privacy, I will not share their names, but they know who they are. Each 
and every one of them not only have my immense gratitude and respect, 
but they have the admiration of my entire staff, whom they have gotten 
to know very well.
  Mr. Speaker, again, as I know them, I know that they are 
representative of an extraordinary group of people that we call the 
United States Capitol Police.
  On January 6, when the rioters first breached the Capitol's defenses, 
these officers acted without delay, according to their training, to get 
me quickly to a safe location, but they couldn't get everybody. And so 
many were still in this Chamber as the insurrectionists cried for the 
lives of Members of Congress.
  Capitol Police checked in with staff and did their best to get us 
information in a situation that was chaotic and rapidly changing for 
us, but more importantly, for them on the front lines. My security 
detail until the last Congress had been led by an officer, who now 
serves in the force in a more senior capacity. He was by my side almost 
every day for nearly two decades. I came to know him and his family 
well, just as I have other members of my detail. As I said, they are 
like family to all of us in the majority leader's office. I know that 
is true of the minority leader's office and the whip's office and the 
Speaker's office and the Democratic whip's office, and our Senate 
counterparts.
  The senior officer on my detail formerly was present at the Capitol 
on January 6, and he acted heroically, and he was the one that tried to 
save the life of the woman who was shot--who was an insurrectionist--
because he stood next to her, unarmed, when that incident occurred. He 
acted heroically in trying to keep the rioters away from the House 
Chamber and in responding when one of them was shot in the hallway, as 
I just pointed out.
  I know that the events of that day still weigh very heavily on him 
and on each of us--on his colleagues, on all of us. And I hope that he 
and his colleagues know that their grief weighs heavily on all of us 
whom they protect and serve.
  President Joseph Biden, in speaking yesterday to the family of 
Officer Evans, showed empathy. He showed that he felt their pain, their 
concerns, their trauma. And I would urge all my colleagues, when you 
see members of the United States Capitol Police, uniformed or in plain 
clothes, that you thank them.
  Mr. Speaker, I talked about Officer Chestnut. Wendy, his wife, as I 
said, was here yesterday. He was shot in the back by the assailant, who 
then shot Officer Gibson in the office that I now occupy. It was Tom 
DeLay's office at that point in time.
  Mr. Speaker, we thank them, we honor them, but the way we really need 
to respond to them is to make sure they have the resources, the 
training, the equipment, and the authority to respond to those who 
confront them with violence and fatal force.
  We lost Officer Sicknick. This Capitol was invaded because there were 
restraints, frankly, on the United States Capitol Police. We need to 
make sure that they have the authority to respond, to protect this 
Capitol, this democracy, our Members, our staff, the visitors to this 
Capitol, but also, importantly, themselves.
  We know that this is a difficult moment and the Capitol Police force 
is facing challenges like never before in its 193-year history.
  In the early 1960s, I worked here as an intern in a United States 
Senator's office, and I had a number of friends who also were in law 
school or some other school, who were ``Capitol cops'' we called them. 
Thankfully, the risks were minimal. That is not true today. And as the 
risks are great, we must respond robustly to ensure that we have the 
capacity and the will to meet those risks.
  Mr. Speaker, may God bless and protect our U.S. Capitol Police 
officers.

                          ____________________