PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 447, NATIONAL APPRENTICESHIP ACT OF 2021; PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H. CON. RES. 11, CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ON THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2021; AND FOR OTHER...
James P. McGovern (Democrat, MA) \u2014 2021-2-2

I thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Morelle), a distinguished member of the Committee on Rules, for yielding to me. prgtoken , I support the underlying measures before us today, but I take a moment to discuss something else included here. prgtoken , just outside these doors is something students walk through every day to prevent gun violence in their schools, something travelers pass through every time they board an airplane, and something the public goes through every time they enter a Federal building: prgtoken Magnetometers. Metal detectors. prgtoken They are a modern-day inconvenience that we are all used to, and, frankly, they are a small price to pay to keep Americans safe. prgtoken Metal detectors were installed outside this Chamber following the recent deadly insurrection at the Capitol. Although these machines are new, the policy they are enforcing is not. That has been on the books for more than 50 years. prgtoken President Lyndon Johnson signed a law outlawing weapons on Capitol grounds back in 1967. The Capitol Police Board, the entity that oversees security regulations in the complex, then issued regulations soon after. They prohibited firearms from being carried into the Chamber and in the connected rooms and galleries. prgtoken , now some Members, like myself, want to see these regulations go further. Representatives Huffman and Speier have been instrumental on this front, and I hope that we act. Others want no prohibitions at all. prgtoken , regardless, the rules are the rules. I thought that was clear, but apparently some of my friends on the other side think differently. Some are acting as though, by being elected to Congress, they have been anointed to some sort of special club, one that gets to pick and choose what rules to follow. prgtoken A Member on the other side ran an ad depicting her walking around our Nation's Capital with a loaded firearm, prgtoken tweeting: ``Let me tell you why I will carry my Glock to Congress.'' prgtoken Another recently bragged that he was armed during the recent riots, and another was stopped by Capitol Police bringing a gun into this Chamber. prgtoken , I could go on. We have people in this Chamber who have posted disturbing and threatening rhetoric against Members of this body. And there is speculation that maybe some Members were complicit with those who attacked the Capitol on January 6. You know, these words and actions raise serious safety concerns. prgtoken , these metal detectors are manned by the same police officers who saved our lives during the insurrection while risking their own, yet some Members on the other side have disrespected these Capitol Police Officers, verbally abused them, pushed them aside, and disregarded their orders, all to avoid this basic safety measure. That is no way to treat our heroes. prgtoken Some of these very same Members have been quick to send press releases and cut advertisements about the need to respec