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“January 6 Select Committee (Executive Session)” mentioning Amy Klobuchar was published in the Senate section on pages S5123-S5124 on July 28.
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The publication is reproduced in full below:
January 6 Select Committee
Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I come to the floor today to speak about how we must pass emergency security supplemental appropriations legislation to deliver needed funding to the Capitol Police and the National Guard.
Anyone who watched yesterday the moving testimony of the officers who protected this Capitol, I think, understands that we cannot wait.
I appreciate the efforts by my colleagues both over in the House as well as here in the Senate, Appropriations Chairman Leahy and Ranking Member Shelby, as well as Senator Blunt who works with me on the Rules Committee, to reach a bipartisan proposal on this critical funding issue, and we should pass this agreement without delay.
But after passing this important legislation, we must also continue to work to ensure that all the funding needs in the aftermath of January 6 are met, including with respect to funding for the Justice Department to bring those who participated in the insurrection to justice and to ensure there is sufficient funding for security improvement for the Capitol.
When an angry, violent mob staged an insurrection on January 6 and desecrated this Chamber, the temple of our democracy--what they did over in the House, what they did in the hallways, spray-painted on the columns, the Parliamentarian office in shreds--it was an attack on our Republic itself.
As chair of the Rules Committee, I knew that we had to respond immediately in two ways: One was immediately finishing our job that day and getting the ballots counted; and then, 2 weeks later, making sure that inauguration took place on that platform, which they had also desecrated only 2 weeks before.
But the second piece was to get to the bottom of what happened. I am glad that the House, with their bipartisan Select Committee, is continuing this work. Our focus in the Senate was more limited, but Senator Blunt and Senator Peters and Senator Portman and I combined our committees to look, to get some immediate answers so we could achieve this funding, as well as do some other things that couldn't wait for a year, that we had to get done right away.
That is why we convened immediate hearings with both officials who are responsible for security at the Capitol, including people who are no longer in their positions and with representatives from key Federal agencies.
We held the first hearing of the event of that horrific day. Our bipartisan report focused on security, planning, and response failures related to the violent and unprecedented insurrection that includes key findings and recommendations that should be put in place without delay.
We learned about one Capitol Police officer who could be heard on the radio that day asking a tragically simple question: Does anyone have a plan?
Sadly, there was no plan.
We found out there was no departmentwide operational plan in place before January 6. We are pleased we have a new police chief who has started this last week, who I know will be committed to getting that plan and working with our Sergeant at Arms, with our new employees here who are committed to work on this, as well as all of those police officers who stood with us that day and protected us from harm.
We found out in that report that, although Capitol Police activated seven Civil Disturbance Unit platoons, only four were trained in advanced civil tactics and had access to full riot gear. Officers in one platoon couldn't access equipment that was locked on a bus. Less than 10 percent of officers--160 of 1,840 sworn officers--were trained in advanced civil disturbance tactics.
With respect to intelligence, neither the FBI nor the Department of Homeland Security issued a threat assessment or intelligence bulletin warning of the potential for violence on the Capitol on January 6. They admitted at the hearing they didn't adequately look at social media or take it seriously.
At the same time, Capitol Police intelligence reports in advance of the attack conflicted with each other. One warned of the Capitol being a target for home violence on January 6, and another rated the likelihood of civil disturbance as ``remote'' to ``improbable.'' It appeared nothing was actually resolved.
We also found out that, while the National Guard should have been called sooner, they began arriving at the Capitol at 5:20 p.m., more than 4 hours after the barriers were first breached and nearly 3 hours after the Defense Department got a request for support from the Capitol Police.
In light of these findings, our report made many recommendations pertaining to both Capitol Police and Federal agencies. These are measures that could be acted on without delay while important oversight continues.
With respect to security here at the Capitol, progress has already been made, as I mentioned, with the appointment of the new police chief. We said that should be done immediately.
I have also introduced legislation with Senator Blunt to put in place another one of our recommendations, which is to empower the Capitol Police Chief to directly request assistance from the DC National Guard in emergency situations.
One of the many absurd and tragically sad situations was that day when, of course, there had been mess-ups in not requesting the Guard earlier, which could have changed things dramatically.
But on that day, the Chief had to try to call the Sergeant at Arms of both Chambers, both of whom were leading the fight against the insurrectionists with the police. He had to make those phone calls because he felt that he needed that permission to be able to call in the National Guard.
What our bill simply does is it gives the Capitol Police Chief, in those dire emergency situations, the power to do that.
The agreement announced yesterday would also go a long way toward implementing another of our recommendations, which is one of the most crucial: to ensure that the Capitol Police has sufficient personnel with appropriate training and equipment to fulfill its mission.
Crucially, yesterday's agreement includes essential funding for the Capitol Police and National Guard, including funding for exactly what is called for in our report. This comes at a critical time when the Capitol Police is expected to run out of funding for salaries in August, and the National Guard is considering having to cut upcoming training without having additional support.
The agreement also includes Capitol Police funding for improved equipment and training to ensure officers have the resources they need to fulfill their mission of protecting the Capitol. Importantly, the Capitol Police funding also includes money for mental health support, something I specifically called for.
It also fully reimburses the National Guard for their costs in deploying to the Capitol, which was essential to securing the Capitol following the attack.
By the way, we all know we need to recruit more officers, and I believe the stability of having a police Chief in place, particularly one from this region, and also having the funding and the benefits and the things we need will be helpful in our major effort that must be done to recruit more Capitol Police. People have been working too many shifts; they have been working too late; and they have been away from their families for too long.
While this proposal will deliver needed funding for these urgent priorities, there are other priorities that we must not forget.
First, it remains imperative that the criminal insurrectionists who overtook the Capitol on January 6 are held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. The Justice Department has done incredible work to see that justice is done following the horrific events of that day, with more than 500 people now facing criminal charges. That is, by the way, very important that we fund that. That is something we may have to take up in the future as some of these cases may be very complex.
Secondly, at the same time, the insurrection also made clear--and we all know this--the need to improve the security of the Capitol Complex itself. This includes funds requested to upgrade the windows and doors that were destroyed by the violent mob that day and for new security measures. As we move forward, while I appreciate the funding in this bill, there may be need for additional funding.
We heard again yesterday about the horrific events of January 6 during that hearing. We heard that harrowing testimony, once again, from brave officers who performed heroically under unimaginable circumstances. We all know the stories of staff hiding in closets. We all have seen the videos of how close it was for so many Members. We owe it to those who are with us today, for those we have lost, and for those whom we want to hire in the future to keep us safe. We owe it to them to pass this legislation to fund the Capitol Police and National Guard, but we also will owe it to them in the future to fund these ongoing prosecutions and other security improvements.
I urge my colleagues to join me in working to ensure that we pass this bill and also that the critical funding needs are met as we move forward, for nothing is more important to this place than our democracy.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Louisiana.
Mr. CASSIDY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that my remarks may conclude shortly after 1:10 p.m.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered
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