I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1566 
To permit employees of the House of Representatives who are authorized 
to possess certain weapons in the District of Columbia to bring such 
weapons into House Office Buildings for secure storage, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 10, 2023 
Mr. STEUBE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To permit employees of the House of Representatives who 
are authorized to possess certain weapons in the District 
of Columbia to bring such weapons into House Office 
Buildings for secure storage, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Safe Storage Lockers for House Office Buildings Act’’. 
(b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
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(1) In 2021, there were 2,654 violent crime in-
cidents in the District of Columbia, and 2,900 of-
fenses reported in the District of Columbia by 2 law 
enforcement agencies that submitted National Inci-
dent-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) data which 
covered the entire population of the District. 
(2) Many employees of the House of Represent-
atives who work in House Office Buildings in the 
District of Columbia commute to and from their of-
fices by walking, and many have themselves been 
victims of these crimes in the District of Columbia. 
(3) Individuals in the District of Columbia are 
authorized under District of Columbia law to carry 
and use certain weapons for self-defense, including 
self-defense sprays, stun guns, and concealed fire-
arms. However, District of Columbia and Federal 
law prohibit individuals from carrying these weapons 
inside a Federal building. 
(4) As a result, employees of the House of Rep-
resentatives who work in House Office Buildings in 
the District of Columbia are prohibited from car-
rying weapons inside the buildings in which they 
work, even if these employees are authorized under 
District of Columbia law to carry and use these 
weapons for self-defense outside these buildings. 
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SEC. 2. AUTHORIZING HOUSE EMPLOYEES TO BRING CER-
TAIN SELF-DEFENSE WEAPONS INTO HOUSE 
OFFICE BUILDINGS. 
(a) AUTHORIZATION.—An individual who is an em-
ployee of the House of Representatives may bring a weap-
on described in subsection (b) into a House office building 
if— 
(1) the individual is authorized under the laws 
of the District of Columbia to carry the weapon out-
side of the building; 
(2) immediately prior to entering the building, 
the individual is carrying the weapon in compliance 
with such laws; 
(3) the individual enters the building through 
an external pedestrian entrance; 
(4) upon entering the building with the weapon, 
the individual leaves the weapon in a storage locker 
operated by the United States Capitol Police under 
section 3 while the individual remains in the build-
ing; and 
(5) after retrieving the weapon from the locker, 
the individual leaves the building immediately. 
(b) WEAPONS DESCRIBED.—The weapons described 
in this subsection are as follows: 
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(1) A self-defense spray described in section 
212 of the Firearms Control Regulations Act of 
1975 (sec. 7–2502.12, D.C. Official Code). 
(2) A stun gun described in section 101(17A) 
of the Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975 
(sec. 7–2501.01(17A), D.C. Official Code). 
(3) A firearm described in section 101(9) of the 
Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975 (sec. 7– 
2501.01(9), D.C. Official Code). 
SEC. 3. PROVISION OF SAFE STORAGE LOCKERS AT BUILD-
ING ENTRANCES. 
(a) 
RESPONSIBILITIES
OF
CAPITOL
POLICE 
BOARD.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Capitol Police Board shall de-
sign, install, and operate storage lockers at external pedes-
trian entrances to each House office building, which may 
be used while an employee of the House is in the building 
to safely store a weapon which the employee brings into 
the building under section 2, and from which the employee 
may retrieve the weapon when the employee leaves the 
building. 
(b) REGULATIONS.—The Capitol Police Board shall 
promulgate such regulations as may be required to carry 
out this section. 
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