IV

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. RES. 162

Providing for enclosing the galleries of the House of Representatives with

a transparent and substantial material.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 6, 1999

Mr. BURTON of Indiana submitted the following resolution; which was referred

to the Committee on House Administration

RESOLUTION

Providing for enclosing the galleries of the House of

Representatives with a transparent and substantial material.

1 Resolved,

2 SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

3 The Congress finds the following:

4 (1) The first bombing of the Capitol occurred

5 in the Senate Wing of the building in 1915 by a

6 man protesting United States involvement in World

7 War I.

8 (2) On March 1, 1954, 4 Puerto Rican nation9 alists armed with .38 caliber revolvers entered the

10 visitors’ gallery and fired a total of 19 shots at the
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1 Members and staff while the House of Representa2 tives was in session and conducting a vote. 5 mem3 bers of Congress were struck by the gunfire.

4 (3) In 1971, a group named the Weather Un5 derground planted an explosive device in a first-floor

6 restroom on the Senate side of the Capitol to protest

7 United States military involvement in the Vietnam

8 War. The device detonated early in the morning

9 when the building was closed, causing extensive

10 damages but no injuries.

11 (4) In 1983, a man carrying an improvised ex12 plosive device strapped to his body entered the

13 House gallery while the House was in session. He

14 was able to construct the device in such a manner

15 as to avoid detection during security screening. Dur16 ing a floor debate, the man attempted to detonate

17 the device until United States Capitol Police officers

18 restrained the man, removed him from the gallery,

19 and secured the device.

20 (5) In 1983, a group named the Armed Resist21 ance Unit planted an explosive device on the second

22 floor of the Senate wing of the Capitol, outside the

23 Senate Chamber. The group was protesting United

24 States military involvement in Central America. The

25 device detonated at 11:00 p.m. causing extensive
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1 damage to the area around the Chamber. At the

2 time, the Senate recessed early and no one was in

3 the area when the blast occurred.

4 (6) On July 24, 1998, a lone gunman entered

5 the Document Door of the Capitol and immediately

6 shot and killed the officer posted at that location.

7 The gunman then exchanged gunfire with another

8 officer before fleeing further into the building where

9 he engaged in another gunfight in which a second

10 officer was killed. The gunman was shot several

11 times during this incident.

12 (7) The House and Senate visitors galleries are

13 the frequent target of demonstrators. Whenever the

14 House or Senate is debating a subject which is con15 troversial or polarizing, it is not uncommon for dis16 turbances to occur in the galleries in the form of

17 civil disobedience.

18 (8) Since August 1996, the United States Cap19 itol Police have arrested 3 persons in the House gal20 leries and 15 persons in the Senate galleries for dis21 rupting Congress.

22 (9) 7,000,000 to 10,000,000 tourists visit the

23 Capitol complex annually.
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1 (10) In 1997, the Capitol hosted more than

2 2,000 American and foreign dignitaries, and was the

3 site for nearly 300 scheduled demonstrations.

4 (11) In addition to lawmakers and their staff,

5 a sizable number of journalists, lobbyists, and serv6 ice personnel also work within the Capitol complex.

7 (12) These incidents and the amount of visitors

8 and personnel present in the Capitol have prompted

9 increases in the level of security afforded the Capitol

10 complex.

11 SEC. 2. ENCLOSURE OF HOUSE GALLERY.

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Architect of the Capitol shall

13 enclose the galleries of the House of Representatives with

14 a transparent and substantial material, and shall install

15 equipment so that the proceedings on the floor of the

16 House will be clearly audible in the galleries.

17 (b) AUTHORIZATION.—There shall be paid out of the

18 applicable accounts of the House of Representatives such

19 sums as may be reasonably necessary to carry out this

20 resolution.

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