National Commission to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol Complex Act

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, this year, we will observe the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. It will serve as a somber reminder of the fragility of our security, the bravery of our law enforcement and first responders, and the resilience of our democracy.

After the attacks on 9/11, Congress recognized the importance of establishing a bipartisan commission to investigate these brazen acts of terrorism. This body recognized the need to find the truth and help all of us understand how these heinous acts that not only forever changed our country, but also the entire world, could have been carried out.

The highly respected 9/11 Commission identified numerous challenges that needed to be addressed, which ultimately led to many concrete recommendations that were later enacted into law. These critical reforms vastly improved our information sharing, intelligence collection, vetting capabilities, and broader homeland security enterprise.

The security breach that took place at the U.S. Capitol on January 6 was completely unacceptable. It was a major breakdown in information sharing and preparedness, much like the shortfalls that existed prior to 9/11. It was not only an attack on this institution but an attack on our law enforcement brethren who defend us every day.

Unfortunately, we know that the Capitol, Federal buildings, and even Members of Congress remain a target for extremists of all ideologies, as we all saw most recently during the April 2 vehicle attack that took the life of Capitol Police Officer William ``Billy'' Evans.

The bill before us today, H.R. 3233, would create an independent, bipartisan commission to investigate the relevant facts and circumstances relating to the January 6 attack on the Capitol, as well as targeted violence and domestic terrorism relevant to that attack.

It also charges the commission with providing and finding recommendations to, among other things, prevent, prepare for, and respond to similar attacks; improve the security posture of the Capitol complex; and ensure the security of Members of Congress and congressional staff.

Modeled after the 9/11 Commission, this bill creates a 10-member panel with five commissioners appointed by each party and equal subpoena authority.

While the expedited December 2021 deadline would only give the commission about 6 months to do its job, there is good reason for that: The American people and the Capitol Police deserve answers and action as soon as possible to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again.

We must find answers to the many questions surrounding that day. What information was known leading up to January 6? Why was that information not shared with the proper entities? Why were Capitol Police officers left so unprepared? Who failed to provide them with support? Why did it take so long for reinforcements to come to their aid? How can we improve the decisionmaking and bureaucracy that is clearly hampering the Capitol Police and the security of the Capitol complex? How can we ensure that the Capitol, Members of Congress, and our staffs are secure from attacks? And how do we ensure that this is a safer place for the members of the Capitol Police force who risk their lives every day to protect us?

These are only a few of the many questions that need to be answered. The American people and the Capitol Police deserve those answers.

As I have called for since the days just after the attack, an independent, 9/11-style review is critical for removing the politics around January 6 and focusing solely on the facts and circumstances of the security breach at the Capitol, as well as other instances of violence relevant to such a review.

Make no mistake about it, Mr. Thompson and I know this is about facts. It is not partisan politics. We would have never gotten to this point if it was about partisan politics.

Thanks to the strong partnership with Mr. Thompson, the Homeland Security Committee remains a bipartisan committee focused on securing the Nation while leaving partisanship at the door, which is exactly what the American people expect of us.

Chairman Thompson and I were able to work together to block out all the political noise surrounding the January 6 attack and turn the Speaker's partisan proposal into a reasonable, nonpartisan bill.

Now, H.R. 3233 is nearly identical to the original commission bill, H.R. 275, that I, along with 30 other Republican cosponsors, introduced on January 13, 6 days after the attack.

I sincerely appreciate Chairman Thompson's robust collaboration and strong commitment, as well as his friendship, by working together on this effort. The American people expect Congress to put partisanship aside for the sake of our homeland security.

I fully recognize that in a diverse body like this, Members come down on different sides of different issues. I welcome that. We all should. That is America; because, after all, none of this is personal. It is about our mutual desire to keep America safe and secure. To my friends on both sides of the aisle, I welcome honest, vigorous, and civil debate.

At the end of the day, I strongly believe this is fair and necessary legislation. I encourage all Members, Republicans and Democrats alike, to put down their swords just for once and support this bill.

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Mr. KATKO. Mr. Speaker, I just want to note for the Record that the subpoena to which my colleague from California mentioned can only be issued if there is a consensus by both sides of the aisle on the commission. It is not something that one side can do unilaterally. And that is one of the key provisions of this, because it depoliticizes the process and it is a consensus-driven process.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the Speaker for her comments.

I want to reiterate for everyone to understand: The way that Mr. Thompson and I crafted this bill, we crafted it in such a manner to make sure it would be depoliticized entirely. There is an equal number of members on both sides appointed by both sides. They have equal subpoena power. They can't subpoena one person without the other person on the other side of the aisle agreeing. They have to hire staff together, all those things.

I want to make sure people understand that we did this for a reason because that is exactly what made the 9/11 Commission successful and made it effective.

As someone who was in Federal law enforcement for 20 years before I took this job, I can tell you, Mr. Speaker, that our country is infinitely safer because of what the 9/11 Commission did. We are much stronger against terrorism, and we share information in much better ways than we ever did--for example, the Joint Terrorism Task Forces, which are all over this country.

I ask my colleagues to consider the fact that this commission is built to work. It will be depoliticized, and it will get the results we need because the Capitol itself and the Capitol Police officers will be better off for it.

Mr. BISHOP of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I had not intended to speak, but the careful mask of bipartisanship seems to have faltered here at the last, with the majority leader's attacks on the minority leader, who has not spoken, and the minority leader in the Senate for comments he has made in public but not in debate.

So what was an image of bipartisan cooperation has now become one more partisan attack. It caused me to believe that it was important to stand up and say this: How can you have a bipartisan commission with an all-Democrat staff? How do you do that?

And why is it that there is no willingness to look into all of the riots and the arson and the violence and the burning? If we are concerned about the danger that police officers were in on January 6-- and certainly they were--then why don't we have that concern for the dangers, the violence, the injuries, the deaths that have been faced by police officers across this country?

Why is one form of political violence equivalent to 9/11 when a blind eye has been turned by this Congress, or at least by the majority in this Congress, to that same phenomenon across this country for a year? Where is the inquiry into that?

When the images are raised, the lurid images of insurrection--let me just say this. If it was an insurrection, it was the worst example of an insurrection in the history of mankind. It was a riot, it was a mob, it was significant, and it was troublesome.

But this is not bipartisanship, and I fear that the gentleman from New York may find that he has been played.

Mr. Speaker, I just want to take a few moments to address some of the arguments that have been made here today, and some of the arguments that have been made in opposition to this bill.

One of them is talking about the scope of the commission being too narrow. I want to note that the commission is granted sufficient scope and flexibility to investigate targeted violence and domestic terrorism relevant to the January 6 attack. It will be up to the commission to decide how far they want to go with that perimeter.

Do I feel that the attack on the Capitol on April 2 that killed a Capitol Police Officer is relevant? I do. I hope the commission does, too.

Do I feel that the June 17 attack on Republican Members of Congress is relevant to the January 6 attack? I do. I hope the commission does. They have the flexibility to do so, if they want.

If there are other issues outside of this scope, we can look into them. We can have separate legislation. I encourage my colleagues, who are concerned about that, to do that.

Another charge I heard was that the commission could be controlled by partisan staff hired unilaterally by the commission chair. That is simply not true.

Here is what the bill does. It requires consultation between the chair, appointed by the Democrats, and the vice chair, appointed by the Republicans, for any hiring of staff. Further, it requires that it be in accordance with the rules agreed upon by the commission. The commission creates the rules as a team. They then hire as a team.

Lastly, there has been some concerns or arguments made about the criminal investigations. Make no mistake about it. This commission has nothing to do with the criminal investigations. This commission, by law, cannot interfere with criminal investigations. Criminal investigations alone won't get us what we need, like the 9/11 Commission concluded. It won't get us the recommendations, the insight, the expertise from the people on the commission who can come in, look at the Capitol security matrix, and say this is what needs fixing. A prosecutor can't tell you that. The commission can. That is what we want to do.

Second, the bill specifically requires the commission to respect ongoing investigations and build upon the investigations, learn from them, and avoid unnecessary duplication.

This language, in that respect, goes further than the 9/11 Commission in H.R. 275 in granting deference to other ongoing investigations.

So I just want to make sure people are clear about that going forward.

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Mr. KATKO. Mr. Speaker, I ask that we all take a deep breath right now. Everybody breathe for a minute and everybody stop the theatrics, and everybody stop the arguments that are not relevant to this issue.

This is a very solemn moment. We are here to talk about something that is very important to the entire of our Government and the entire of our country. I ask that we think about the officers and their families and conduct ourselves accordingly.

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Mr. KATKO. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time remains?

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Mr. KATKO. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close and I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, this legislation is not about partisan politics. It is about finding the truth and addressing the vulnerabilities of our security apparatus so that we can emerge stronger and better prepared.

The January 6 attack was a completely preventable failure of intelligence, information sharing, decisionmaking, and preparedness. The Capitol Police and D.C. police suffered greatly and continue to suffer as a result.

The institutions of our democracy are and will continue to be a target for extremists set on using violence to further their ideology. We, in Congress, owe it to this Nation, to our constituents, and to the dedicated men and women who risk their lives every single day to protect those institutions--and I honor them--to see that we learn from those attacks, that we get answers to the hard questions, and that we do not repeat the mistakes of the past.

Capitol Police Officers Brian Sicknick and Howard Liebengood, as well as D.C. Police Officer Jeffrey Smith, all lost their lives in the wake of the January 6 attack. Over 140 more law enforcement officers--140-- were injured as a result of that attack.

Less than 4 months later, on April 2, Capitol Police Officer William ``Billy'' Evans was killed and another officer was injured when yet another extremist attacked the Capitol.

And, of course, we can't forget the 2017 terrorist attack against Republican Members of Congress during practice for the Congressional Baseball Game. Were it not for the officers involved, there would be scores of dead Congressmen. That is the plain truth. I acknowledge the heroic efforts of David Bailey and Crystal Griner.

We owe it to all of these officers and their families to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again. This legislation is modeled directly on the legislation that created the 9/11 Commission. I sincerely believe that this commission, with strong support from this body, will embark on an objective, nonpartisan search for answers and solutions, just as the 9/11 Commission did.

Again, I want to thank my friend, Chairman Thompson, for his partnership.

I urge everyone in the body, on both sides--not just my side and not just the other side, all of us--to set aside politics just this once-- just this once. I beg Members to pass this bill.

I was a prosecutor for 20 years prior to coming here to Congress, and many times we would meet at 4:30 in the morning or 5:00 in the morning, and they would get ready to go out and do the raids and arrest very, very dangerous people. I was always the last person to see them before they went out to get these awful, dangerous people off the street: drug dealers, murderers, violent people. They did their job every day, and I was sending them into harm's way. It always made my heart sink.

Imagine being a family member of these officers who do this. So let's take a deep breath and think about what is really important here. These people, every single day, are willing to lay down their lives for us.

They deserve better, and we are going to deliver this. We are going to deliver it on behalf of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick. We are going to deliver it on behalf of Capitol Police Officer Howard Liebengood. We are going to deliver it on behalf of Capitol Police Officer William ``Billy'' Evans. We are going to deliver it on behalf of D.C. Police Officer Jeffrey Smith. We are going to deliver it on behalf of D.C. Police Officer Michael Fanone and so many others who struggle with the events of that day. We do so on behalf of the people who risked their lives for us and continue to, like Capitol Police Officer David Bailey and Capitol Police Officer Crystal Griner.

I want these officers and their families to know that we are doing it not for us and not for politics. We are doing it for them. We are doing it for them.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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Mr. KATKO. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

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