Congressional Oversight of Unjust Policing Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 276 To establish a national commission to investigate the seditious attack on the United States Capitol and Congress on January 6, 2021, address the systemic failures in the United States Capitol security and intel- ligence apparatus to accurately assess outside threats, and study and propose recommendations to realign the mission of the United States Capitol Police, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 12, 2021 Mr. BOWMAN (for himself, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. BUSH, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. COOPER, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Mr. HORSFORD, Ms. JACOBS of Cali- fornia, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. JONES, Mr. KAHELE, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. MENG, Ms. NEWMAN, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Ms. OMAR, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mr. RUSH, Mr. TORRES of New York, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. GREEN of Texas, and Mrs. NAPOLITANO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Com- mittee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall with- in the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To establish a national commission to investigate the sedi- tious attack on the United States Capitol and Congress on January 6, 2021, address the systemic failures in the United States Capitol security and intelligence appa- ratus to accurately assess outside threats, and study and propose recommendations to realign the mission of the United States Capitol Police, and for other purposes. VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:40 Feb 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H276.IH H276 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 276 IH Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Congressional Over- 4 sight of Unjust Policing Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 (1) On January 6, 2021, organized individuals 8 violently attacked the United States Capitol while 9 both chambers of Congress were in session, putting 10 the lives of Members, Congressional staff, and sup- 11 port staff at risk. 12 (2) Various media reports suggest that certain 13 members of rank and file law enforcement officers 14 aided and abetted individuals who breached security 15 at the Capitol on January 6. 16 (3) Various media reports indicate that neither 17 the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) nor the 18 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) conducted 19 a risk assessment of demonstration activities, nor 20 issued a joint department bulletin as is customary 21 for large and notable public events. 22 (4) Officers Brian Sicknick and Howard 23 Liebengood died after defending the Capitol Com- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:40 Feb 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H276.IH H276 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 276 IH plex and protecting those serving and working there 1 on January 6, 2021. 2 (5) The United States Capitol Police provides 3 limited information to the public about employee 4 misconduct, and the Office of the Inspector General 5 of the United States Capitol Police does not publicly 6 disclose its reports, unlike the vast majority of other 7 Inspectors General. 8 (6) In recent decades, community organizers 9 have formed social justice and criminal reform move- 10 ments to call for substantive changes in response to 11 various incidents across the country in which law en- 12 forcement has used excessive force against civilians, 13 often resulting in the death of those who present or 14 identify as Black or Brown. 15 (7) In the Nation’s Capital, and on the United 16 States Capitol grounds, the disparate treatment of 17 individuals is ever-present, as various Members of 18 Congress and Congressional staff who come from 19 communities of color have documented instances of 20 refusal of entry and mistreatment by United States 21 Capitol Police (USCP) officers. 22 (8) Further, in 2013, agents from the United 23 States Secret Service and United States Capitol Po- 24 lice shot Miriam Carey, an unarmed individual, more 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:40 Feb 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H276.IH H276 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 276 IH than 20 times while she was in her car with her in- 1 fant, hitting Carey five times and killing her. 2 (9) In 2018, United States Secret Service 3 agents took Jessica Ford into custody without exces- 4 sive force, even though she intentionally rammed a 5 White House checkpoint with a gun in her hand. 6 (10) In 2017, during debates about Public Law 7 115–97, United States Capitol Police officers forc- 8 ibly dragged peaceful demonstrators from the dis- 9 ability community out of wheelchairs and other sup- 10 portive medical devices. 11 (11) In 2020, armed members of the District of 12 Columbia National Guard were dispatched to stand 13 guard on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial amidst 14 peaceful protests. 15 (12) In 2020, United States Park Police and 16 National Guard troops forced people into unmarked 17 vans and used tear gas and fired rubber bullets to 18 disperse peaceful protestors for the President’s 19 planned visit to St. John’s Episcopal Church. 20 (13) In 2017, the FBI reported that white su- 21 premacists posed a ‘‘persistent threat of lethal vio- 22 lence’’ that has produced more fatalities than any 23 other category of domestic terrorists since 2000. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:40 Feb 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H276.IH H276 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 276 IH (14) In 2015, the FBI’s Counterterrorism Pol- 1 icy Directive and Policy Guide warned that subjects 2 of ‘‘domestic terrorism investigations focused on mi- 3 litia extremists, white supremacist extremists, and 4 sovereign citizen extremists often have identified ac- 5 tive links to law enforcement officers’’. 6 (15) A 2006 intelligence assessment, based on 7 FBI investigations and open sources warned of 8 ‘‘white supremacist infiltration of law enforcement . 9 . . by organized groups and by self-initiated infiltra- 10 tion by law enforcement personnel sympathetic to 11 white supremacist causes’’. 12 (16) Since 2000, hundreds of Federal, State, 13 and local law enforcement officials have been caught 14 expressing racist, nativist, and sexist views on social 15 media. 16 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF U.S. COMMISSION ON UNJUST 17 POLICING. 18 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com- 19 mission to be known as the ‘‘U.S. Commission on Unjust 20 Policing’’ (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’). 21 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 22 (1) COMPOSITION.—The Commission shall be 23 composed of 19 members appointed as follows: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:40 Feb 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H276.IH H276 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 276 IH (A) 8 members shall be appointed by the 1 leadership of Congress, of whom— 2 (i) 2 shall be appointed by the major- 3 ity leader of the Senate; 4 (ii) 2 by the minority leader of the 5 Senate; 6 (iii) 2 by the Speaker of the House of 7 Representatives; and 8 (iv) 2 by the minority leader of the 9 House of Representatives. 10 (B) 8 members shall be appointed by the 11 Chairs of the following caucuses— 12 (i) 2 shall be appointed by the Con- 13 gressional Black Caucus; 14 (ii) 2 by the Congressional Hispanic 15 Caucus; 16 (iii) 2 by the Congressional Asian Pa- 17 cific American Caucus; and 18 (iv) 2 by the Congressional Progres- 19 sive Caucus. 20 (C) 3 members shall be appointed by the 21 President, each of whom shall be individuals 22 who are not officers or employees of the Fed- 23 eral Government and who are experts in at 24 least one of the following categories: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:40 Feb 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H276.IH H276 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 276 IH (i) Racial equity in law enforcement. 1 (ii) Preventing white nationalist ex- 2 tremist violence. 3 (iii) Large-scale reform of law en- 4 forcement agencies. 5 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.— 6 (A) AREAS OF EXPERTISE.—Each member 7 of the Commission shall have knowledge or ex- 8 pertise, whether by education, experience, train- 9 ing, or activism, in at least one of the following 10 areas: 11 (i) Justice and civil rights. 12 (ii) Law enforcement and intelligence 13 oversight and reform. 14 (iii) Diverse and inclusive personnel 15 management. 16 (iv) Social and emotional development. 17 (v) Effective education and training 18 methods to combat implicit and uncon- 19 scious bias. 20 (vi) Behavioral economics. 21 (vii) Combating white supremacist, 22 and other extremist groups, movements, 23 and organizing efforts. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:40 Feb 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H276.IH H276 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 276 IH (B) SPECIAL RULE FOR MEMBERS AP- 1 POINTED BY CONGRESSIONAL LEADERSHIP.— 2 Each of the persons appointing members of the 3 Commission under paragraph (1) shall ensure 4 that one of the members so appointed is an in- 5 dividual who is not an officer or employee of the 6 Federal Government. 7 (C) CIVILIAN REPRESENTATION.—Not 8 fewer than 4 members of the Commission shall 9 be individuals who are not officers of law en- 10 forcement agencies. 11 (D) DIVERSITY.—It is the intent of Con- 12 gress that persons appointed to the Commission 13 under paragraph (1) be persons who represent 14 diverse economic, professional, and social back- 15 grounds. 16 (3) CONSULTATION AND APPOINTMENT.— 17 (A) IN GENERAL.—The President, Speaker 18 of the House of Representatives, minority lead- 19 er of the House of Representatives, majority 20 leader of the Senate, and minority leader of the 21 Senate shall consult among themselves before 22 appointing the members of the Commission in 23 order to achieve, to the maximum extent prac- 24 ticable, representation of various fields of exper- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:40 Feb 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H276.IH H276 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 276 IH tise to ensure maximum impact by the Commis- 1 sion. 2 (B) COMPLETION OF APPOINTMENTS.— 3 The President, Speaker of the House of Rep- 4 resentatives, minority leader of the House of 5 Representatives, majority leader of the Senate, 6 and minority leader of the Senate shall conduct 7 the consultation under subparagraph (A) and 8 make their respective appointments not later 9 than 60 days after the date of enactment of 10 this Act. 11 (C) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the mem- 12 bership of the Commission shall not affect the 13 powers of the Commission and shall be filled in 14 the same manner as the original appointment 15 not later than 30 days after the vacancy occurs. 16 (4) TERMS.—Each member of the Commission 17 shall serve for a term of one year, and may be re- 18 appointed to additional terms. 19 (5) REMOVAL.—Subject to the approval of a 20 majority of the members of the Commission, a mem- 21 ber of the Commission may be removed for cause at 22 any time by the person who appointed the member 23 if the member fails to meet responsibilities of the 24 commission. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:40 Feb 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H276.IH H276 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 276 IH (c) MEETINGS.— 1 (1) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 30 days 2 after the date on which all members of the Commis- 3 sion have been appointed, the Commission shall hold 4 its first meeting. 5 (2) SUBSEQUENT MEETINGS.— 6 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 7 meet at the call of the Chair. 8 (B) FREQUENCY.—The Chair shall call a 9 meeting of the members of the Commission not 10 less frequently than once every 3 months. 11 (3) QUORUM.—Ten members of the Commis- 12 sion shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number 13 may hold hearings. 14 (4) CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR.—The Commission 15 shall select a Chair and Vice Chair from among its 16 members. The Chair and Vice Chair shall serve in 17 that position for a term of 1 year and may be re- 18 appointed for additional terms. 19 (5) TRANSPARENCY AND PUBLIC INPUT.—Each 20 meeting of the Commission for which a quorum is 21 present shall be open to the public, either in person 22 or remotely through digital technology, and the 23 Commission shall establish procedures for members 24 of the public to submit testimony at Commission 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:40 Feb 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H276.IH H276 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 276 IH meetings regarding the topics presented during such 1 meetings. 2 SEC. 4. DUTIES OF COMMISSION. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The duties of the Commission are 4 as follows: 5 (1) To carry out a comprehensive investigation 6 into decisions of leadership at the United States 7 Capitol Police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, 8 the United States Secret Service, and the Depart- 9 ment of Homeland Security, leading up to and dur- 10 ing the siege of the United States Capitol on Janu- 11 ary 6, 2021, including an assessment on whether 12 conscious and unconscious bias was a factor in the 13 gross miscalculation of the risk posed by protestors 14 to Members of Congress and staff on that date. 15 (2) To carry out a comprehensive investigation 16 in coordination with the Federal Bureau of Inves- 17 tigation and other Federal entities as appropriate 18 into whether current members of the United States 19 Capitol Police have ties to white supremacist and 20 other extremist groups, movements, and organizing 21 efforts; and whether any members of the United 22 States Capitol Police neglected their duty and 23 colluded with protestors or other law enforcement 24 entities. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:40 Feb 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H276.IH H276 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 276 IH (3) To recommend specific measures and re- 1 forms to Congress and other stakeholders on how 2 the United States Capitol Police must realign prior- 3 ities and practice to address disparate use of force 4 and surveillance targets in and around the Capitol 5 Complex, including changes to existing law, changes 6 to Federal programs, and suggestions for actions the 7 private sector can take. 8 (4) To recommend specific measures and re- 9 forms to Congress and other stakeholders to realign 10 recruitment, hiring, and retention policies and prac- 11 [Text truncated for display. 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