Commending the officers of the United States Capitol Police Department, the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington, DC, and other law enforcement personnel for their selfless and heroic service in defense of American democracy in responding to the assault on the United States Capitol by domestic terrorists on January 6, 2021.

IV 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 169 Commending the officers of the United States Capitol Police Department, the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington, DC, and other law enforcement personnel for their selfless and heroic service in defense of American democracy in responding to the assault on the United States Capitol by domestic terrorists on January 6, 2021. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 26, 2021 Ms. JACKSON LEE (for herself, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. NEAL, Mr. COHEN, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Ms. JOHNSON of Texas, Ms. WILSON of Flor- ida, Mr. VARGAS, Ms. SEWELL, Ms. STRICKLAND, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, and Mr. SABLAN) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Com- mittees on House Administration, and Education and Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider- ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned RESOLUTION Commending the officers of the United States Capitol Police Department, the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington, DC, and other law enforcement personnel for their selfless and heroic service in defense of Amer- ican democracy in responding to the assault on the United States Capitol by domestic terrorists on January 6, 2021. Whereas the United States Capitol Police dates back to 1800 when Congress moved from Philadelphia to Washington, VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:34 Mar 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR169.IH HR169 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HRES 169 IH DC, and a lone watchman was hired to protect the Cap- itol Building; Whereas, in 1827, President John Quincy Adams asked that a regular Capitol police force be established and on May 2, 1828, Congress passed an Act that expanded the po- lice regulations of the city of Washington, DC, to include the Capitol and Capitol Square; Whereas the United States Capitol Police expanded its force after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, and again following the historic merger with the Library of Congress Police in 2009; Whereas in addition to the more than 2,000 sworn members of the force, the United States Capitol Police Department has over 350 civilian personnel who provide operational and administrative support and its diverse workforce is comprised of employees from nearly all 50 States and the United States territories; Whereas the United States Capitol Police embodies the best in American policing and serve as a model in security, urban crime prevention, dignitary protection, specialty re- sponse capabilities, and homeland security; Whereas as ambassadors of Congress, officers of the United States Capitol Police Department are often the first face that visitors and employees encounter, leaving a lasting impression that is reflective of the legislative branch and its role in America’s democracy; Whereas officers of the United States Capitol Police Depart- ment each day proudly protect the legislative process, the symbol of the Nation’s democracy, the people who carry out the process, and the millions of visitors who travel here to see democracy in action; VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:34 Mar 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR169.IH HR169 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HRES 169 IH Whereas there is no finer example of the selfless devotion to duty, love of country, and fidelity to their oath to pre- serve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the officers of the United States Capitol Police Department’s than their valiant, heroic, and courageous response to the as- sault on the Capitol Building by thousands of domestic terrorists, insurrectionists, and rioters sent there by then- President of the United States to ‘‘fight like hell’’ to dis- rupt and derail the constitutionally required Joint Meet- ing of Congress to open, count, and publicly confirm the vote tally of the Presidential electors and announce the persons who had been elected President and Vice Presi- dent of the United States on January 6, 2021; Whereas the District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser and the Metropolitan Police Department have a distinguished record of protecting all groups, regardless of their beliefs, who come to the Nation’s capital to exercise their First Amendment rights peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances; Whereas at the direction of Mayor Bowser, and in advance of the scheduled demonstrations, mutual aid was re- quested by the Metropolitan Police Department from sev- eral area police departments to be on standby in the Dis- trict, including neighboring law enforcement departments, the Metropolitan Transit Police and non-law enforcement agencies such as the District’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency and the Fire and Emer- gency Medical Services Department; Whereas the sustained assault on the Capitol precipitated an equally unprecedented response, necessitating the urgent request of the United States Capitol Police for the Metro- politan Police Department to come defend the Capitol to VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:34 Mar 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR169.IH HR169 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HRES 169 IH which the Metropolitan Police Department responded im- mediately with several Civil Disturbance Unit Platoons and proceeded to deploy to the west front of the Capitol and arrived within minutes; Whereas the violent mob overran protective measures at the Capitol and by 1:50 p.m., the Metropolitan Police De- partment had declared the assembly to be a riot and im- mediately began working to achieve the objectives of stop- ping domestic terrorists from entering the Capitol Build- ing and removing those that were already inside, secure a perimeter so that the Capitol could be cleared for law- makers to resume the Joint Meeting of Congress to dem- onstrate to the Nation and the world the robustness and vitality of America’s democracy, and making arrests of anyone violating the law; Whereas during the height of the siege of the Capitol, ap- proximately 850 Metropolitan Police Department mem- bers were at the Capitol, with another 250 in the area to directly support the response and aftermath; Whereas people around the country and the world were shocked and moved by the video of a Metropolitan Police Department officer being beaten by a crowd of insur- gents, including one wielding an American flag, and of another in agony as he was crushed between a door and a riot shield but also awed by their bravery in the face of this unprovoked and vicious attack, bravery that was matched that day by countless other unheralded Metro- politan Police Department officers; Whereas the siege on the Capitol resulted in one of the worst days of injuries for law enforcement in the United States since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks; VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:34 Mar 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR169.IH HR169 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HRES 169 IH Whereas officers of the United States Capitol Police Depart- ment, the Metropolitan Police Department of Wash- ington, DC, and other uniformed law enforcement offi- cers stood their ground in defense of American democ- racy while being attacked by the angry mob of domestic terrorists with metal pipes, discharged chemical irritants, and other weapons; Whereas at least 138 officers, 73 from the United States Capitol Police Department, and 65 from the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington DC, sustained injuries during the attack on the Capitol Building, several of whom required hospitalization; Whereas the injuries sustained ranged from bruises and lac- erations to more serious damage such as concussions, rib fractures, burns, and even a mild heart attack; Whereas one United States Capitol Police Department officer died from injuries sustained while physically engaging with protesters and two officers involved in the response have died by suicide; Whereas dozens, if not hundreds, of officers whom law en- forcement officials estimate will suffer in years to come from post-traumatic stress disorder as will the dozens of law enforcement officers who contracted the coronavirus from the unmasked domestic terrorists and rioters who stormed the Capitol; Whereas at least 38 Capitol Police officers have tested posi- tive or were exposed to the coronavirus as were nearly 200 National Guard personnel who were deployed to pro- tect the Capitol; Whereas the seven hours between the urgent call for help from the Capitol Police to the Metropolitan Police De- VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:34 Mar 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR169.IH HR169 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HRES 169 IH partment and the resumption of work by both Houses of Congress will be indelibly etched in the memories of every law enforcement officer who was on the scene, as it is in the minds of the Senators, Representatives, congressional and support staff, and members of the media corps who were forced to seek safety behind locked doors; and Whereas despite being overwhelmed and outnumbered, the in- domitable forces of American democracy, symbolized by the resolve of the officers of the United States Capitol Police Department, prevailed and the seditious attack was quelled, the Capitol Building preserved, and the lives of Senators and Representatives protected, as well as those of congressional and support staff, and order was restored so that the Joint Meeting of Congress resumed and timely completed its constitutionally required duty of counting and announcing the votes of the Presidential electors, an essential step in the peaceful transfer of power that has been a hallmark of American democracy and an example to the world for more than two centuries: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 (1) conveys the thanks and appreciation of a 2 grateful Nation to the officers of the United States 3 Capitol Police Department, the Metropolitan Police 4 Department of Washington, DC, and other law en- 5 forcement personnel for their selfless and heroic 6 service in defense of American democracy in re- 7 sponding to the assault on the United States Capitol 8 by domestic terrorists on January 6, 2021; 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:34 Mar 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR169.IH HR169 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HRES 169 IH (2) encourages all educational and media insti- 1 tutions throughout the United States to teach and 2 celebrate the story of the heroism of the officers of 3 the United States Capitol Police Department, the 4 Metropolitan Police Department, and all other law 5 enforcement officers who, out of true faith and alle- 6 giance to the Constitution of the United States, self- 7 lessly risked their lives to protect the Capitol Build- 8 ing and its personnel, the Congress, and the spirit 9 and fact of democracy in America; and 10 (3) calls upon all Americans to read, celebrate, 11 and revere the Constitution of the United States, fi- 12 delity to which is the best means of forming a more 13 perfect union, establishing justice, ensuring domestic 14 tranquility, providing for the common defense, pro- 15 moting the general welfare, and securing the bless- 16 ing of liberty to them and their posterity. 17 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:34 Mar 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR169.IH HR169 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS