Ranking Member Morelle Opening Remarks at Oversight Subcommittee Hearing on January 6th Security

Hearing

"Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, for calling in this hearing.

And I also want to thank my colleague the Ranking Member of the subcommittee, Ms. Torres, for her work.

I want to thank Chief Sund not only for being here today to offer testimony, sir, but also for your service to the Capitol Police and to our country. So I appreciate that.

I think whenever we're talking about January 6th, I think it's important we have a fuller picture of what the House majority did in the aftermath, of the attack, particularly for those who seem to have developed a case of collective amnesia.

And I do want to set the record straight. In the days and weeks following the violent mobs attack and ransacking of the United States Capitol House Democrats immediately got to work and the work started with the Speaker immediately ordering a nonpartisan forward looking and comprehensive security review of the Capitol and its support agencies.

And that was spearheaded by General Russel Honoré, this committee, I was not a member of the committee at the time, but the committee then directed the United States Capitol Police Inspector General to temporarily set aside the office's ongoing work and prioritize a comprehensive nonpartisan review of the USCP's preparation and response to the attack.

Concurrently, the Architect of the Capitol Inspector General conducted similar assessments of the Capitol complexes physical security.

So, upon issuance of each IG report, this committee, held a series of public hearings six in total to review the findings and to question the respective inspectors.

General series of reports culminated in more than 100 recommendations to improve the operations of the Capitol Police, harden the security of the Capitol complex, and protect the people within, which is of course our large responsibility here.

But the work didn't stop there.

While the Committee on House Administration conducted its important work, it was evident a broader inquiry was necessary to fully investigate and understand the attack, not just to hold those involved accountable, but to provide the American public with answers to basic questions.

So, towards that end, legislation was introduced to establish an outside independent commission to investigate and report on the facts and the causes of the attack.

The bill was developed with input from both parties and that bipartisan framework was reflected in the final text considered by the House.

And I just recall because he was a friend and a colleague of mine, John Katko, member of the House Republican Caucus, who was asked to help negotiate the deal, did so and then inexplicably at the time, Minority Leader McCarthy declared his opposition to the bill.

A bill which was characterized by his own handpicked negotiator represent John Katko as a solid fair agreement.

Regardless, we pressed on and got the bill through the House on a bipartisan basis only for it ultimately failed due to a Republican filibuster with the prospects of an independent commission growing bleaker.

Despite good faith efforts by the Speaker to work collaboratively with the Minority Leader, the House then voted to impanel a bipartisan select committee to investigate the attack.

And it was constituted by appointments for both the Speaker and the Minority Leader.

Again, at the last minute, the Minority Leader withdrew his appointments to the select committee.

Although impossible to exhaustively list the entirety of its work, in the brief five minutes I'm afforded here, the select committee interviewed hundreds of subjects, including riot participants and government officials combed through thousands of hours of video footage and hundreds of thousands of pages of documents held 10 public televised hearings and issued a final report, which devoted two appendices to examining the preparation and response of government agencies and the DC National Guard.

But we didn't just end the investigation there, nor did we just investigate the attack itself.

"We passed laws that provided increased security funding for the Capitol Complex, made sure officers struggling from the physical and emotional trauma of that day, had access to the care they need and deserve.

We brought transparency to the Capitol Police Board and made it easier to mobilize outside assistance in the event of an emergency.

The Capitol Police were there for us, so we wanted to be there for them.

January 6th is among the darkest stains on this country's historic fabric.

An armed and violent mob attempted to forcefully disrupt the peaceful transfer of power and subvert the will of the American people at the behest of an increasingly desperate former president.

But we also witnessed incredible bravery on that day by the Capitol Police acts of genuine heroism that kept us safe and kept our beloved democratic experiment alive.

And I'm forever grateful to the Capitol Police for that.

And with that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back."

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