[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 132 (Wednesday, July 28, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5123-S5124]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                       January 6 Select Committee

  Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I come to the floor today to speak 
about how we must pass emergency security supplemental appropriations 
legislation to deliver needed funding to the Capitol Police and the 
National Guard.
  Anyone who watched yesterday the moving testimony of the officers who 
protected this Capitol, I think, understands that we cannot wait.
  I appreciate the efforts by my colleagues both over in the House as 
well as here in the Senate, Appropriations Chairman Leahy and Ranking 
Member Shelby, as well as Senator Blunt who works with me on the Rules 
Committee, to reach a bipartisan proposal on this critical funding 
issue, and we should pass this agreement without delay.
  But after passing this important legislation, we must also continue 
to work to ensure that all the funding needs in the aftermath of 
January 6 are met, including with respect to funding for the Justice 
Department to bring those who participated in the insurrection to 
justice and to ensure there is sufficient funding for security 
improvement for the Capitol.
  When an angry, violent mob staged an insurrection on January 6 and 
desecrated this Chamber, the temple of our democracy--what they did 
over in the House, what they did in the hallways, spray-painted on the 
columns, the Parliamentarian office in shreds--it was an attack on our 
Republic itself.
  As chair of the Rules Committee, I knew that we had to respond 
immediately in two ways: One was immediately finishing our job that day 
and getting the ballots counted; and then, 2 weeks later, making sure 
that inauguration took place on that platform, which they had also 
desecrated only 2 weeks before.
  But the second piece was to get to the bottom of what happened. I am 
glad that the House, with their bipartisan Select Committee, is 
continuing this work. Our focus in the Senate was more limited, but 
Senator Blunt and Senator Peters and Senator Portman and I combined our 
committees to look, to get some immediate answers so we could achieve 
this funding, as well as do some other things that couldn't wait for a 
year, that we had to get done right away.
  That is why we convened immediate hearings with both officials who 
are responsible for security at the Capitol, including people who are 
no longer in their positions and with representatives from key Federal 
agencies.
  We held the first hearing of the event of that horrific day. Our 
bipartisan report focused on security, planning, and response failures 
related to the violent and unprecedented insurrection that includes key 
findings and recommendations that should be put in place without delay.
  We learned about one Capitol Police officer who could be heard on the 
radio that day asking a tragically simple question: Does anyone have a 
plan?
  Sadly, there was no plan.
  We found out there was no departmentwide operational plan in place 
before January 6. We are pleased we have a new police chief who has 
started this last week, who I know will be committed to getting that 
plan and working with our Sergeant at Arms, with our new employees here 
who are committed to work on this, as well as all of those police 
officers who stood with us that day and protected us from harm.
  We found out in that report that, although Capitol Police activated 
seven Civil Disturbance Unit platoons, only four were trained in 
advanced civil tactics and had access to full riot gear. Officers in 
one platoon couldn't access equipment that was locked on a bus. Less 
than 10 percent of officers--160 of 1,840 sworn officers--were trained 
in advanced civil disturbance tactics.
  With respect to intelligence, neither the FBI nor the Department of 
Homeland Security issued a threat assessment or intelligence bulletin 
warning of the potential for violence on the Capitol on January 6. They 
admitted at the hearing they didn't adequately look at social media or 
take it seriously.
  At the same time, Capitol Police intelligence reports in advance of 
the attack conflicted with each other. One warned of the Capitol being 
a target for home violence on January 6, and another rated the 
likelihood of civil disturbance as ``remote'' to ``improbable.'' It 
appeared nothing was actually resolved.
  We also found out that, while the National Guard should have been 
called sooner, they began arriving at the Capitol at 5:20 p.m., more 
than 4 hours after the barriers were first breached and nearly 3 hours 
after the Defense Department got a request for support from the Capitol 
Police.
  In light of these findings, our report made many recommendations 
pertaining to both Capitol Police and Federal agencies. These are 
measures that could be acted on without delay while important oversight 
continues.
  With respect to security here at the Capitol, progress has already 
been made, as I mentioned, with the appointment of the new police 
chief. We said that should be done immediately.
  I have also introduced legislation with Senator Blunt to put in place 
another one of our recommendations, which is to empower the Capitol 
Police Chief to directly request assistance from the DC National Guard 
in emergency situations.
  One of the many absurd and tragically sad situations was that day 
when, of course, there had been mess-ups in not requesting the Guard 
earlier, which could have changed things dramatically.
  But on that day, the Chief had to try to call the Sergeant at Arms of 
both Chambers, both of whom were leading the fight against the 
insurrectionists with the police. He had to make those phone calls 
because he felt that he needed that permission to be able to call in 
the National Guard.
  What our bill simply does is it gives the Capitol Police Chief, in 
those dire emergency situations, the power to do that.
  The agreement announced yesterday would also go a long way toward 
implementing another of our recommendations, which is one of the most 
crucial: to ensure that the Capitol Police has sufficient personnel 
with appropriate training and equipment to fulfill its mission.
  Crucially, yesterday's agreement includes essential funding for the 
Capitol Police and National Guard, including funding for exactly what 
is called for in our report. This comes at a critical time when the 
Capitol Police is expected to run out of funding for salaries in 
August, and the National Guard is considering having to cut upcoming 
training without having additional support.
  The agreement also includes Capitol Police funding for improved 
equipment and training to ensure officers have the resources they need 
to fulfill their mission of protecting the Capitol. Importantly, the 
Capitol Police funding also includes money for mental health support, 
something I specifically called for.

[[Page S5124]]

  It also fully reimburses the National Guard for their costs in 
deploying to the Capitol, which was essential to securing the Capitol 
following the attack.
  By the way, we all know we need to recruit more officers, and I 
believe the stability of having a police Chief in place, particularly 
one from this region, and also having the funding and the benefits and 
the things we need will be helpful in our major effort that must be 
done to recruit more Capitol Police. People have been working too many 
shifts; they have been working too late; and they have been away from 
their families for too long.
  While this proposal will deliver needed funding for these urgent 
priorities, there are other priorities that we must not forget.
  First, it remains imperative that the criminal insurrectionists who 
overtook the Capitol on January 6 are held accountable to the fullest 
extent of the law. The Justice Department has done incredible work to 
see that justice is done following the horrific events of that day, 
with more than 500 people now facing criminal charges. That is, by the 
way, very important that we fund that. That is something we may have to 
take up in the future as some of these cases may be very complex.
  Secondly, at the same time, the insurrection also made clear--and we 
all know this--the need to improve the security of the Capitol Complex 
itself. This includes funds requested to upgrade the windows and doors 
that were destroyed by the violent mob that day and for new security 
measures. As we move forward, while I appreciate the funding in this 
bill, there may be need for additional funding.
  We heard again yesterday about the horrific events of January 6 
during that hearing. We heard that harrowing testimony, once again, 
from brave officers who performed heroically under unimaginable 
circumstances. We all know the stories of staff hiding in closets. We 
all have seen the videos of how close it was for so many Members. We 
owe it to those who are with us today, for those we have lost, and for 
those whom we want to hire in the future to keep us safe. We owe it to 
them to pass this legislation to fund the Capitol Police and National 
Guard, but we also will owe it to them in the future to fund these 
ongoing prosecutions and other security improvements.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in working to ensure that we pass 
this bill and also that the critical funding needs are met as we move 
forward, for nothing is more important to this place than our 
democracy.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Louisiana.
  Mr. CASSIDY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that my remarks 
may conclude shortly after 1:10 p.m.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered