Andy Barr Warns About The 'Unacceptable' Security At The Capitol

2 days ago

During a House Appropriation Committee Hearing On Capitol Complex Safety on Tuesday, Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY) warned about recent breaches to the U.S. Capitol Complex.

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Transcript

00:00The subcommittee will come to order. I'd like to thank the ranking member

00:04Espaillat and the ranking member of our full committee, Ms. DeLauro, for joining

00:08us today. I'd like to extend a particularly warm welcome to the new

00:12members of our subcommittee, Representative Nick LaLotta, Representative

00:17Dale Strong, Representative Celeste Malloy, and our new vice chair,

00:22Representative Riley Moore, Representative Steny Hoyer. I look forward to working

00:26together in a bipartisan fashion as we begin the fiscal year 2026 process. The

00:32purpose of today's oversight hearing is to review the status of public safety

00:36and security of the Capitol complex, learn about recent breaches to the

00:42campus, and hear about the new actions that the United States Capitol

00:46Chief of Police and his leadership team are taking to address

00:50these lapses. I want to begin by welcoming Chief Manger and congratulating

00:56him on his upcoming retirement. Thank you, Chief, for your years of leadership

01:01and service to the Capitol community. We appreciate your dedication and work you

01:05have done to enhance the safety and security of each member, our families, and

01:09staff, and especially our constituents while visiting the nation's Capitol. I

01:13also want to thank each and every officer in the United States Capitol

01:17Police. Each member of Congress is keenly aware of your diligent efforts

01:22and that many of you of your heroic actions are never made public, but

01:28please know that you are seen and appreciated. We appreciate your recent

01:33successes in multiple back-to-back national security national special

01:37security events such as the 60th inaugural ceremonies and the most recent

01:41president joint address. While we certainly appreciate and have come to

01:46expect these successes, we also recognize the continued success in your mission

01:51requires some change, some refocusing and retraining, and especially increased

01:56consistency and vigilance. We will learn in more detail from Chief Manger in his

02:02testimony over the past months. Capitol Complex has experienced several security

02:06lapses in which members of the public and even staff members have entered our

02:09buildings with items that are prohibited but have gone undetected by our officers.

02:14These breaches are unacceptable and cannot be permitted to

02:19continue. That being said, we do not want a few human errors to wipe out our your

02:25record of success in keeping our community safe. Additionally, I want to

02:31note that the safety and security of the Capitol Complex does not solely rest on

02:35the soldiers of our Capitol Police officers. As members, staff, and visitors,

02:39we have an obligation to understand the safety protocols of the Capitol Complex

02:43and to follow them. Recently, the House Sergeant of Arms shared a

02:48communication reminding all of us of our responsibility to cooperate with law

02:51enforcement by ensuring that we do not attempt to bring prohibited items onto

02:56the premises and following other security practices. We have

03:01copies of this document at the hearing today and I encourage members and their

03:04staff to reinforce these expectations with your colleagues as well as your

03:08constituents. It is when we all work together that we can have and ensure the

03:12greatest level of safety for us. Chief Manger, we appreciate your partnership as

03:17we have worked to ensure the Capitol campuses remain secure and safe for

03:21Congress's essential legislative operations and for the millions of

03:25visitors who come to see the democracy in action in the United States Capitol. I

03:29look forward to your testimony. I now yield to the ranking member,

03:34Mr. Espiot, for his opening remarks. Thank you, Chairman Valadao. Thank you for your

03:42work, Ed.

Andy Barr Warns About The 'Unacceptable' Security At The Capitol

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