[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 5 (Thursday, January 8, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S111-S112]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





  DIRECTING THE ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL TO PROMINENTLY DISPLAY, IN A 
 PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE LOCATION IN THE SENATE WING OF THE UNITED STATES 
CAPITOL, A PLAQUE HONORING THE MEMBERS OF LAW ENFORCEMENT RESPONDING ON 
   JANUARY 6, 2021, UNTIL THE PLAQUE CAN BE PLACED IN ITS PERMANENT 
                                LOCATION

  Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, 5 years and 2 days ago, the Capitol 
Police protected us as a team stormed the Capitol. Many other forces 
came and defended the Capitol as well. It was more than just stopping 
folks headed toward the Capitol to try to interrupt the counting of 
votes; it was protecting the peaceful transfer of power, which goes to 
the heart of the Republic.
  In 2022, we passed a law saying we would put up this plaque to 
recognize the valiant efforts of the police officers, but the plaque 
has not gone up yet; so I am here to team up with my colleague from 
North Carolina in order to have a strategy to make sure that we do get 
this plaque up until the House and Senate can reach an agreement.
  Therefore, Mr. President, as if in legislative session, I ask 
unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate 
consideration of S. Res. 580.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 580) directing the Architect of the 
     Capitol to prominently display, in a publicly accessible 
     location in the Senate wing of the United States Capitol, a 
     plaque honoring the members of law enforcement responding on 
     January 6, 2021, until the plaque can be placed in its 
     permanent location.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
resolution be agreed to; that the preamble be agreed to; and that the 
motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 580) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  (The resolution, with its preamble, is printed in today's Record 
under ``Submitted Resolutions.'')
  Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, I yield to my colleague from North 
Carolina.
  I will have some comments following his comments. We also have the 
Democratic lead on the Rules Committee here who would like to weigh in 
on the importance of this action.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Carolina.
  Mr. TILLIS. Mr. President, I came to the floor on January 6 to make 
sure that we conveyed our undying gratitude to everybody who played a 
role.
  Senator Merkley and I were here in the Chamber, and what we saw there 
was a parliamentary staff being focused on the job, not worried about 
themselves but worried about getting the ballots that we were 
certifying into safekeeping. We saw the Sergeant at Arms' staff do an 
extraordinary job of marshaling people around and getting them out of 
the building. We saw the Capitol Police spirit us away from this 
Chamber, over to the Hart Building, and secure us--literally--without 
any risk of any of us being harmed.
  Having said that, we walked by several Capitol Police officers who 
were injured. They had been hit. They had been crushed in doors. You 
know all of the reports. Yet they did their jobs that day. So, when I 
heard that, apparently, the law that we passed to recognize them and to 
place this plaque had a technical implementation problem, I went about 
seeing how we could clarify things, and I found out that my colleague 
from Oregon Senator Merkley had a similar concern. So we are two folks 
who came together to say: Let's provide some clarity here.
  The one thing I will tell you is that this is the plaque, but 
according to the Capitol Architect, the technical problem that, 
apparently, the House identified, which I think they can cure fairly 
quickly if they think it is a concern, is that the plaque was to 
include a list of all of the individual law enforcement officers who 
came to the Capitol on that day. This plaque actually has the names of 
the various law enforcement agencies, but the reality is, there is a 
digital component to this, which I understand, once it is implemented, 
will have a list of each and every person who answered the call.
  I think it is good that we actually have all of the agencies here 
because you will see how many people came here--again, I will close on 
this--to be a part of withstanding what I would consider to be one of 
the most significant stress tests for this institution since it was 
founded.
  Just keep in mind that we came here. We heard thousands of people 
storm this Capitol. People died. Police officers were injured, 
hospitalized. One died shortly after January 6. A lot of people said 
that was a dark day for democracy. I would leave with you this: It was 
a great day for democracy because of the law enforcement officers--the 
people who kept us safe--because do you know what we did when we were 
confronted with thousands of thugs storming this building? We took a 
brief recess. We got ourselves together. The Capitol was secured. Then, 
before we left this compound, we came back and completed our 
constitutional duty to certify the election. If that is not a good 
example of parliamentary staff, cloakroom staff, the Sergeant at Arms, 
and Capitol Police being a part of helping us withstand the greatest 
threat to this great institution--we owe them our eternal gratitude, 
and this Nation is stronger because of it.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oregon.
  Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, it was an extraordinary moment to be 
sitting here in this Chamber and seeing a member of the staff's team 
run down the aisle to the podium, speak quietly to the Vice President, 
have the Vice President immediately gavel down the session and depart 
through the side door; then to see police officers from the Capitol 
Police immediately engaged, working to lock the doors, protect this 
Chamber; and whole teams set up to ensure the safety of the Members of 
the Senate, with the same thing happening over on the House side.
  Then, within a few hours, as my colleague from North Carolina has 
pointed out, the Capitol was secured, but in the process, 170 police 
officers in defending the Capitol were injured, and as a consequence of 
the attack on that day, 5 died.
  So it was no small movement. It was not a peaceful protest outside 
but a storming of the Capitol, with some brutal assaults on folks 
within, on the police officers within. It is so important that we 
fulfill the vision of the 2022 law and get this plaque up to honor 
those police officers.
  What this resolution is saying is that we in the Senate will put it 
up here, in a publicly available space, until a deal can be reached 
with the House of Representatives to display it. Both Chambers have to 
agree on that, but this is to put it up here in the Senate in a place 
where the public can see it. That we can do here on our own, and we 
intend to do it. That is the right thing to do.
  It was a shocking thing to me this week because, simultaneous with 
discovering that this plaque had been stashed away in a room--out of 
sight somewhere--and that there wasn't an agreement to display it, I 
also saw the White House's posting, saying that it was a fiction that 
the Capitol was assaulted and that it was just a peaceful protest 
outside.
  It is so important we be honest with the American people about what 
happened. It is so important that we recognize those who defended our 
democratic Republic on that day. It is so important that people know 
that we came back as Senators and House Members and finished our work 
that day for the peaceful transfer of power, which is essential to the 
future of our democratic Republic, and that we succeed in that every 4 
years.
  We have all taken an oath to the Constitution, and that is one of the 
most important functions to preserve in the Constitution--the integrity 
of the ballot box, which is the beating heart of a democratic 
republic--and the subsequent peaceful transfer of power.
  Mr. TILLIS. Will the Senator yield?
  Mr. MERKLEY. I will yield, yes.
  Mr. TILLIS. Mr. President, the one thing I would like to say to 
Senator Merkley--and that is why I should bring notes when I come down 
to the

[[Page S112]]

floor--is that I also want to thank the Republican leader Senator Thune 
because he has agreed that we will be able to display this until the 
final location is in place, and I appreciate his help in doing that.
  Mr. MERKLEY. I am so glad my colleague mentioned that because, for us 
to take action here, we have to have bipartisan work, including the 
leadership on both sides of the aisle.
  So while neither my colleague from North Carolina nor I are in the 
leadership of our--at least I am not, but we worked with our leadership 
to make this happen. So this is an example of bipartisan cooperation on 
a very important point.
  So with that, unless my colleague from North Carolina has more to 
share, I am going to yield to my colleague from California and thank 
him and his leadership on the Rules Committee as we worked to get to 
this point, with a bipartisan partnership, to get this plaque honoring 
the police officers from many groups--most, of course, the Capitol 
Police, but several other groups--that came to defend the Capitol and 
make sure they know how much we appreciate what their sacrifice was to 
defend democracy on that day 5 years and 2 days ago.
  I yield to my colleague from California.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Budd). The Senator from California.
  Mr. PADILLA. Mr. President, I want to thank Senators Merkley and 
Tillis for their bipartisan cooperation in honoring the law enforcement 
officers who responded on January 6, 5 years ago. I also want to thank 
them both for their comments on Tuesday, 2 days ago, recognizing the 
fifth anniversary of the attack on the Capitol.
  As Senator Merkley mentioned, I am the ranking member on the Rules 
Committee, which has jurisdiction on this issue, and I can attest, 
having been here for the votes on the original action, that there was 
bipartisan and bicameral agreement on this plaque and bipartisan, 
bicameral agreement on its intended location following the enactment of 
the law.
  Now, for the last several years, many people have been confused by 
the delay in mounting it as planned and directed by Congress. Many even 
believe that the Speaker of the House never intended to follow the law 
and honor these law enforcement officers who bravely defended the 
Capitol and our democracy that day.
  I know that sounds a little cynical, but as Senator Merkley 
mentioned, you have to understand that part of the context here is the 
White House's new website that says that the Capitol Police were the 
ones who deliberately escalated the situation on January 6, in their 
attempt to rewrite the history of that day. That dishonors the 
officers--not just the members of the Capitol Police but all the law 
enforcement agencies--that responded on that eventful day.
  So I am more than just personally pleased to see this resolution move 
forward and that the Senate's bipartisan commitment to real history is 
strong.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Banks). The Senator from Alaska.

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