[Joint House and Senate Hearing, 118 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 118-62
OVERSIGHT OF THE CAPITOL POLICE BOARD
=======================================================================
JOINT HEARING
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON RULES AND ADMINISTRATION
UNITED STATES SENATE
AND THE
COMMITTEE ON HOUSE ADMINISTRATION
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
JULY 26, 2023
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Rules and Administration
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Available via http://www.govinfo.gov
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
53-099 WASHINGTON : 2023
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COMMITTEE ON RULES AND ADMINISTRATION
AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota, Chairwoman
DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California DEB FISCHER, Nebraska
CHARLES E. SCHUMER, New York MITCH McCONNELL, Kentucky
MARK R. WARNER, Virginia TED CRUZ, Texas
JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West
ALEX PADILLA, California Virginia
JON OSSOFF, Georgia ROGER WICKER, Mississippi
MICHAEL F. BENNET, Colorado CINDY HYDE-SMITH, Mississippi
PETER WELCH, Vermont BILL HAGERTY, Tennessee
KATIE BOYD BRITT, Alabama
Elizabeth Peluso, Staff Director
Jackie Barber, Republican Staff Director
COMMITTEE ON HOUSE ADMINISTRATION
BRYAN STEIL, Wisconsin, Chairman
BARRY LOUDERMILK, Georgia JOE MORELLE, New York
H. MORGAN GRIFFITH, Virginia TERRI A. SEWELL, Alabama
GREG MURPHY, North Carolina DEREK KILMER, Washington
STEPHIANIE BICE, Oklahoma NORMA TORRES, California
MIKE CAREY, Ohio
ANTHONY D'ESPOSITO, New York
LAUREL LEE, Florida
[[Page (iii)]]
C O N T E N T S
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Pages
Opening Statements:
Hon. Amy Klobuchar, Chairwoman, a United States Senator from the
State of Minnesota............................................. 1
Rep. Bryan Steil, Chairman, a United States Representative from
the State of Wisconsin......................................... 3
Hon. Deb Fischer, a United States Senator from the State of
Nebraska....................................................... 4
Rep. Joe Morelle, a United States Representative from the State
of New York.................................................... 5
Hon. Karen H. Gibson, Sergeant At Arms and Doorkeeper of the
Senate, United States Senate, Washington DC.................... 8
Hon. William McFarland, Acting Sergeant At Arms, United States
House of Representatives, Washington, DC....................... 10
Chere Rexroat, Acting Architect of the Capitol, Architect of the
Capitol, Washington DC......................................... 12
J. Thomas Manger, Chief of Police, United States Capitol Police,
Washington DC.................................................. 13
Prepared Statement of:
Hon. Karen H. Gibson, Sergeant At Arms and Doorkeeper of the
Senate, United States Senate, Washington DC.................... 42
Hon. William McFarland, Acting Sergeant At Arms, United States
House of Representatives, Washington, DC....................... 60
Chere Rexroat, Acting Architect of the Capitol, Architect of the
Capitol, Washington DC......................................... 64
J. Thomas Manger, Chief of Police, United States Capitol Police,
Washington DC.................................................. 66
For the Record:
Klobuchar--DPEF--Capitol Alert Report............................ 71
Steil--Chair of Capitol Police letter............................ 128
Bice--GAO Report 17-112--Capitol Police Board.................... 130
Loudermilk--Bulletin--Capitol Police Board Order 21.04........... 131
Loudermilk--Testimony of Paul Irving--February, 23, 2021......... 132
Morelle--Interview of General William J. Walker--December 31,
2021........................................................... 136
Morelle--Interview of General William J. Walker--April 21, 2022.. 283
Morelle--Interview of Sean Gallagher--January 11, 2022........... 372
Morelle--Interview of Yogananda Pittman--January 13, 2022........ 479
Morelle--Interview of Paul Irving--March 4, 2022................. 557
Morelle--Interview of Steven Andrew Sund--April 20, 2022......... 615
Morelle--Appendix 2--Final Report of the DC National Guard
Preparation for and Response to January 6th.................... 810
Morelle--Associated Press--Pelosi Did Not Block the National
Guard from the Capitol on January 6th.......................... 856
Morelle--Washington Post--The False GOP Claim That Pelosi Turned
Down the National Guard Before January 6th Attack.............. 861
Morelle--New York Times--Republicans Are Blaming Nancy Pelosi for
the January 6th Attack, Their Claims Don't Add Up.............. 867
Morelle--CNN--Fact Checking Representative Jordan's Claim That
Speaker Nancy Pelosi Was Responsible for United States Capitol
Security and January 6th....................................... 869
[[Page iv]]
Questions Submitted for the Record to:
Hon. Karen H. Gibson, Sergeant At Arms and Doorkeeper of the
Senate, United States Senate, Washington DC.................... 875
Hon. William McFarland, Acting Sergeant At Arms, United States
House of Representatives, Washington, DC....................... 890
Chere Rexroat, Acting Architect of the Capitol, Architect of the
Capitol, Washington DC......................................... 894
J. Thomas Manger, Chief of Police, United States Capitol Police,
Washington DC.................................................. 897
The Capitol Police Board......................................... 991
[[Page (1)]]
OVERSIGHT OF THE CAPITOL POLICE BOARD
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WEDNESDAY, JULY 26, 2023
United States Senate,
Committee on Rules and Administration and
United States House of Representatives,
Committee on House Administration,
Washington, DC.
The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 3:30 p.m., in
Room G50, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Amy Klobuchar,
Chairwoman of the Committee, presiding.
Present: Senators Klobuchar, Fischer, Ossoff, Bennet,
Welch, Cruz, Capito, and Britt.
Representatives Present: Representatives Steil, Morelle,
Loudermilk, Griffith, Murphy, Bice, D'Esposito, Lee, and
Torres.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HONORABLE AMY KLOBUCHAR, CHAIRWOMAN, A
UNITED STATES SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF MINNESOTA
Chairwoman Klobuchar. Good afternoon. I call to order this
joint hearing of the Senate Rules and House Administration
Committees on Oversight of the Capitol Police Board. I would
like to start by thanking Ranking Member Fischer in the Senate
and Chairman Steil. We planned this hearing together, I even
wore my red suit to show how bipartisan this hearing is going
to be. As well as Ranking Member Morelle, who I have been glad
to work with, all of the Members, to plan this really important
hearing to discuss the security of our Nation's Capitol.
I would like to thank our colleagues for being here, as
well as our witnesses, the members of the Capitol Police Board,
who we will introduce shortly, Senate Sergeant at Arms, Karen
Gibson; Acting House Sergeant at Arms, William McFarland;
Acting Architect of the Capitol, Chere Rexroat; and Capitol
Police Chief, Thomas Manger.
I would also like to acknowledge that this week marks 25
years since the shooting of Capitol Police officer Jacob
Chestnut and Detective John Gibson, who were killed while
bravely defending the Capitol on July 24, 1998.
It is a sobering reminder of the importance of the work of
the Capitol Police and that they stand with us. The Capitol
Police Board is tasked with the critical work of overseeing and
supporting the Capitol Police and coordinating the security
efforts of your agencies to protect the Capitol and all those
who work and visit here.
[[Page 2]]
This hearing is an opportunity to discuss the progress that
has been made in recent years and the work that lies ahead. The
members of the Board have strived to make needed improvement in
the past few years since we had a major bipartisan--I know the
House also conducted security hearings, but in the Senate with
Senator Blunt and I at the time, as well as Senator Portman and
Senator Peters--conducted a review of Capitol security.
Similar work, again, at the House. Out of that came a
number of suggestions and the legislation that provided for
this hearing--which I understand is the first joint hearing, is
this right Chairman, since like 1945 or something--Came out of
that report as one of the recommendations. Significant progress
has been made to implement our ten recommendations for the
entities charged with protecting the Capitol.
The majority have been put into effect. We have worked very
well between the House and the Senate as well. Critically, the
Board has worked closely with the Department to improve the
handling of intelligence, prioritize operational planning, and
ensure officers have training and equipment.
We remain focused on how we can best support our officers
who continue to stand every day. They do not just greet us,
they protect us. In the past few years, these men and women
have worked significant overtime and had vacations canceled
while work has been ongoing to get the Department back to full
strength. We owe it to our officers and the work that they have
done.
I would like to recognize the head of the Capitol Police
Union who is also with us back there. He is so shy and
retiring. In the second row, Gus Papathanasiou--I just like
calling him Gus, who is here today and who has been a
consistent and strong advocate on behalf of the rank and file
members of the Department.
I would note that Chief Manger, as the Chief of this
Department, has hired 280 officers last year and is staying on
track to keep with his hiring goals this year, which we truly
appreciate. General Gibson, I want to acknowledge the efforts
you led to improve how the Board functions. I also want to note
the work that we are doing together, the Chairman and I, and
Senator Fischer and Congressman Morelle, on making sure that we
have accountability for the Architect of the Capitol.
We are excited that the bill actually to give Congress the
power to make a decision on changes and termination of the
Architect of the Capitol is in the Defense Authorization Bill.
We got our amendment, Senator Fischer's and my amendments
included in the bill unanimously.
That happens all the time. No, I am kidding. While progress
has been made, we must remain clear eyed about challenges, top
priority threats against Members of Congress. This has happened
on both sides of the aisle, where Members have had threats. Top
priority is making sure our resources are used smartly to
protect people in the Capitol and when they are in their home
districts.
Top priority has been our retaining and adding police
officers for the Chief and to bringing back accountability and
transparency of the Board, including making it easier for the
Board and for the Police Chief to call in help when necessary.
Those were bills that we have just passed.
[[Page 3]]
I know not everything is rosy, but I think it is very
important at this moment in time to acknowledge the work that
we have done together and the trust we have built. That trust
can be taken away, we know, but we have clearly done more to
build morale with the troops. Thank you, Chief.
We are so proud of seeing them every single day, and that
there just feels a bit more of a positive feeling around this
Capitol, and a lot has to do when you are able to find common
ground. With that, I will turn it over to you, Mr. Chairman.
OPENING STATEMENT OF BRYAN STEIL, CHAIRMAN, A UNITED STATES
REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE STATE OF WISCONSIN
Mr. Steil. Thank you very much. Thanks for your work, Chair
Klobuchar, to pull us together for this joint hearing. Thank
the Ranking Member Senator Fischer, and Members of the Senate
Rules Chamber, or Senate Rules Committee, for hosting today's
joint hearing in the upper chamber. I think of it as the
smaller chamber, but, nonetheless.
We thank Ranking Member Morelle and all the Members the
House Rules--the House Administration Committee for joining as
well. Today's hearing is historic in several ways. It is the
first time in modern history that the full Capitol Police Board
will testify before both authorizing committees. It is also the
first time the Board will testify before both of those
Committees in a joint session.
I would like to start by recognizing, as Chair Klobuchar
said, by recognizing officer Jacob Chestnut and Detective John
Gibson, who lost their lives 25 years ago while defending our
Capitol. As we remember their sacrifice, I would like to thank
all members in the Department who work every day to keep
Members, staff, and visitors, and their fellow officers safe.
We must continue to work to support our officers and ensure
they have access to important resources, like those provided
through the Howard C. Liebengood Center for Wellness, which was
recently established within the United States Capitol Police.
Supporting our officers also means bringing transparency
and accountability to the United States Capitol Police Board.
The voting membership in the United States Capitol Police Board
has not changed since 1873.
Now, members of the Board, all of you are new to your
positions within the last two years. This is a unique
opportunity, a unique moment in time where we have an
opportunity, I think, in particular to depoliticize Capitol
security. I am concerned that, historically speaking, security
decisions have been influenced sometimes by politics and
political considerations rather than security needs.
I can give you a couple examples. The Board previously
signed off on assembling a fence around the Capitol despite no
actionable intelligence. Then on the House side, former board
members allowed selective enforcement of magnetometers just off
the House floor.
The House side remained closed for COVID-19 long after the
Senate began loosening its restrictions. Let me be clear,
security should not be political. As Chairman of the Committee
in House Administration, I am committed to de-politicizing
Capitol security and establishing greater accountability for
the Board.
[[Page 4]]
New board members have made progress toward increasing
transparency and accountability, and I thank you for that. This
includes closing the 2017 GAO report recommendations,
establishing the quarterly board fora, and providing greater
communication with its congressional oversight committees.
I am also encouraged that both the House and the Senate
Sergeant at Arms will actively address some of our concerns
regarding accountability and transparency in their written
testimony for today's hearing. Those are steps in the right
direction, but there is still more work to do.
As we work to increase transparency and accountability, the
United States Capitol Police Office of Inspector General is an
important tool in the toolkit. Congress has directed the office
to make its reports publicly available.
Last week, during a subcommittee on oversight hearing, the
Office of Inspector General said that the Board is stalling the
public release of its report. I am troubled that the office
lacks the independence necessary to conduct thorough and
trusted analysis of the Department.
Overall, more must be done to ensure greater transparency,
accountability, and de-politicization of the Board. I remain
concerned that there has been certain instances in which
politics has seeped into the Board, impacting its decision-
making. We must seize this opportunity to make meaningful
reforms to the Board.
The Board should be focused on effective oversight of the
United States Capitol Police, and not the day to day management
of the Department. Ultimately, this is about giving the brave
men and women the United States Capitol support--this is
ultimately about giving the brave men and women of the United
States Capitol Police the support they need. Thank you, and I
yield back.
Chairwoman Klobuchar. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you, and I now turn it over to my colleague in the Senate
and friend, Senator Fischer.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HONORABLE DEB FISCHER, A UNITED STATES
SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF NEBRASKA
Senator Fischer. Thank you, Chairwoman Klobuchar and
Chairman Steil, for calling this joint oversight hearing of the
Capitol Police Board. Thank you, board members, for being with
us this afternoon. I am pleased to be part of this historic
hearing, and I look forward to more hearings in the future to
improve transparency and open communication between the Board
and Congress.
Board members, each one of you holds a pivotal role here at
the United States Capitol. General Gibson, as the Senate
Sergeant at Arms, and Mr. McFarland as the Acting House
Sergeant at Arms, you are responsible for the security of the
United States Senate and the House of Representatives.
Ms. Rexroat, as the Acting Architect of the Capitol, you
are responsible for the physical security and safety
infrastructure on our campus. Chief Manger, as the Chief of
Police, you are responsible for the leading of the brave men
and women of the United States Capitol Police Department.
[[Page 5]]
As members of the Capitol Police Board, you are all charged
with working together to secure not only the Capitol campus,
but any place where the work of the legislative branch is
conducted.
This responsibility is instrumental in ensuring that we as
Members of Congress can fulfill our Constitutional and
Legislative responsibilities. It also ensures that our
constituents have a safe and open access to their
representatives here in Congress.
You are a part of a long history, 150 years of this Board
overseen and supported in the Capitol Police in its mission of
protecting Congress. Congress is the Constitutional and
Legislative responsibilities of our Government, and all
Americans who interact with that legislative process must be
safe.
One of our goals here today is to understand how best to
enhance coordination of your respective agencies to support
those purposes. Recently, the Board has navigated a number of
challenges, including ever changing physical and cybersecurity
risks, evolving threat landscapes, and staff shortages.
Congress has recognized these challenges and prioritized
increased funding for the Capitol Police to aid it in tackling
all of those issues. There will always be emerging challenges
for the Capitol Police and this Board to navigate, and I look
forward to hearing today about how the Board has put its
resources to work and about other ongoing initiatives to
improve and enhance the work of the Capitol Police. Thank you,
Madam Chair.
Chairwoman Klobuchar. Thank you very much, Senator Fischer.
Representative Morelle.
OPENING STATEMENT OF JOE MORELLE, A UNITED STATES
REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE STATE OF NEW YORK
Mr. Morelle. Thank you, Madam Chair. And to Chairman Steil,
Ranking Member Fischer, and all of my colleagues here who have
come for this important bicameral hearing. I want to thank
members of the Board as well.
Of course, Acting Sergeant at Arms, Will McFarland, who I
have a chance to work with each and every day. General Gibson,
thank you for your leadership. Thank you, Chief Manger, for all
the work you are doing. I concur with the Members that have
spoken. Thank you for all of your work, particularly in the
last couple of years.
Specifically, I would like to thank the Acting Architect of
the Capitol who has a job, I think, you neither applied for or
necessarily wanted, but you went into work one day as engineer
and left as the Acting Architect, so--with great
responsibilities. Those that I am not sure you ever expected to
have, but I want to thank you for your commitment to this
institution and to your service.
I, too, as my colleagues have, want to, recognize the 25th
anniversary, if you will, of the deaths of Detective Gibson and
Officer Chestnut who were killed in the line of duty. I think
it is an important reminder of all the work that you do, that
we support, and our family--and our thoughts continue need to
be with their families and their loved ones.
That act of heroism is a reminder. When we talk about
security, we are talking about more than, seems to me, just the
windows and the doors and how to protect the place. We are also
talking about the nearly 2,000 Capitol Police officers. I know,
Chief, you
[[Page 6]]
are thinking about those officers each and every day, as all of
you are. We need to make sure that those who protect us, that
we are doing everything we can to make sure their environment
that they work in is as safe as possible.
I know today we are going to talk about issues like
implementation of security supplementals, staffing issues, the
need for transparency and accountability on the part of the
Board, and our oversight responsibilities. I would also want to
take some time to make sure we are looking to the future.
While the security landscape and the threat environment of
the Capitol is constantly evolving, this is a particularly
transformative moment for both security and law enforcement in
general. I think we all recognize that.
I do want to focus a little bit, and my colleague, Chairman
Steil referenced this, the concept of wellness in law
enforcement. I think even the strongest, most physically fit
officers cannot function effectively if they are not
emotionally healthy, if they are not mentally healthy. I am
glad to see the wellness program coming online and increasingly
seeing it as a standard feature in law enforcement,
particularly with officers who are trained, I think, to, you
know, outwardly have strength and project strength, and they
do.
I think sometimes their willingness to acknowledge the
challenges they may have mentally, emotionally, is something we
need to continue to work on. I recently had one of the most
impactful meetings in my career.
I met with Dr. Serena Liebengood, whose husband, Officer
Howie Liebengood, died after the vicious attack by rioters
after January 6th. As Chairman Steil mentioned, he is the
namesake of the wellness center in Congress. But I am eager to
learn more about the Department's wellness programing, the
Board's role, and whether we are meeting the needs of the brave
men and women of the Capitol Police.
Along similar lines, I was pleased to see Capitol Police
terminate the contract with what I think was an unqualified,
unlicensed Department psychologist. I appreciate the leadership
in terminating that contract. I expect the incoming contractor
to be appropriately credentialed and to refer officers in need
of specialized care to the proper professionals to address
those concerns.
I also would like, and I know we are limited in time, but
interested in how recent advances and increased commercial
investment in artificial intelligence will impact security
operations of the legislative branch.
I recently sent letters to the Chief, the Architect, and
the House officers seeking more information on how they plan to
incorporate AI into their operations, and how they intend to
protect Congress from AI related threats.
I want to make sure Congress in general, and the Capitol
security apparatus more specifically, is prepared for both the
opportunities and the threats posed by AI, and I look forward
to working on a bipartisan issue with my colleagues on this
exciting but at times precarious issue.
Finally, no discussion in the future would be complete
without addressing the fundamental mission of the Capitol
Police as threats not just to Members, but to staff, to
families, visitors re
[[Page 7]]
main historically high, and it is important that we focus on
our role as a protective agency as opposed to a more
traditional.
I am grateful to have the opportunity to be in front of
you. I want to thank all of you for your incredible service and
look forward to the conversation. With that, I yield back.
Chairwoman Klobuchar. Very good. Thank you so much, Ranking
Member Morelle. Chairman Steil and I are going to introduce the
witnesses here, and our first witness is Karen Gibson, Senate
Sergeant at Arms and Chair of the Capitol Police Board.
General Gibson became the Senate Sergeant at Arms on March
22, 2021, after a 33 year Army career, retiring at the rank of
Lieutenant General. This is what she did in her retirement.
During her military career, General Gibson served in senior
intelligence and cybersecurity positions, including Director of
Intelligence for the United States Central Command. She led
intelligence operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Korea, East
Africa, and in the United States.
She received her bachelor's from Purdue University, and two
master's degree from the National War College and the National
Intelligence University.
Mr. Steil. Our second witness is Mr. McFarland, who began
his career on Capitol Hill in 1991 as a security aide for the
United States Capitol Police. He has since served in several
capacities, spanning over a decade as the Director of Security
at the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and as
Director of the Office of House Security, where he remained
until 2021.
After a brief stint in the private sector, Mr. McFarland
was sworn in as the Acting Sergeant at Arms of the United
States House of Representatives on January 7, 2023. Mr.
McFarland, we appreciate you being here today and look forward
to your testimony.
Chairwoman Klobuchar. Very good. The third witness, as
described by Mr. Morelle, who woke up one day and became the
Architect of the Capitol, is Acting Architect of the Capitol,
Chere Rexroat. I also did want to thank Chairman Steil and the
work of your House Committee. Of the Senate, Senator Fischer
and I were engaged in this as well before that hearing.
But I really appreciated the work because I think it was
time for a change there in a big way. Again, this was a
bipartisan effort.
Ms. Rexroat became Acting Architect in February and has
been with the agency since 2018, most recently serving as Chief
Engineer, where she was responsible for overseeing
architectural and engineering design, historic preservation,
and project management.
Ms. Rexroat joined the agency with over 30 years of design
and construction experience with the Department of Defense,
Navy, Marine Corps, and Army. She earned her bachelor's from
Texas A&M.
Mr. Steil. Chief Manger, it is good to see you again.
Thanks for joining us. Chief Manger was sworn in as Chief of
Police for the United States Capitol Police on July 23, 2021.
Chief Manger has served over 42 years in the policing
profession, including more than two decades as Chief of Police
for two of the largest police agencies at the national capital
region.
[[Page 8]]
I would also like to acknowledge that Chief Manger came out
of retirement to take on the difficult job of rebuilding the
Department following January 6th. Thank you for being here,
Chief.
Chairwoman Klobuchar. Very good. If the witnesses could
stand now to be sworn in. Do you swear that the testimony you
will give before the Committee shall be the truth, the whole
truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
Mr. Manger. I do.
Mr. McFarland. I do.
Ms. Rexroat. I do.
Ms. Gibson. I do.
Chairwoman Klobuchar. Thank you. You can be seated, and we
are going to proceed to the testimony for five minutes each.
General Gibson.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HONORABLE KAREN H. GIBSON, SERGEANT AT
ARMS AND DOORKEEPER OF THE SENATE, UNITED STATES SENATE,
WASHINGTON, DC
Ms. Gibson. Chair Klobuchar, Chair Steil, Ranking Member
Fischer, Ranking Member Morelle, and Members of the Committees,
I appreciate the opportunity to testify today as Chair of the
Capitol Police Board.
This afternoon, my colleagues and I will discuss our
progress in safeguarding the Capitol and our plans for the
future. Behind us, sit dedicated officers and staff of the
Capitol Police, the Architect of the Capitol, and the offices
of the Senate and House Sergeants at Arms, representing more
than 5,000 dedicated public servants who strive daily to ensure
the safety, security, and support services required for
America's Congress.
When I came to this job, the security environment was
dramatically different. The Capitol was surrounded by tall
fencing and razor wire. Hundreds of National Guardsmen and
women patrolled the grounds.
Our buildings and even our grounds were off limits to the
public. I am proud to report that today, the Capitol is secure,
the Capitol is safe, and the Capitol is fully reopened.
Over two years, I have witnessed the evolution of the
Capitol Police Board and the Capitol Police. This nonpartisan
group of security professionals is committed to understanding
the lessons of the past, to making steady improvements, and to
pursuing innovations that enhance security.
I assumed the chair of the Board my very first day on the
job, in March 2021. At that time, our most critical and urgent
task was to select a permanent chief. We sought a
transformative leader who understood policing and the
dedication and sacrifice required of law enforcement, and who
would take decisive action to lead and reform a demoralized
Department.
The Board unanimously chose Chief Tom Manger, and I believe
we chose well. I can vouch for significant improvements in the
Department's ability to plan for, coordinate, and execute
responses to major events and security incidents. I have
witnessed the development of a competent and professional
intelligence capacity that informs the USCP's daily activities.
[[Page 9]]
The Department has also improved the way it equips, trains,
recruits, and retains personnel. In coming months, I look
forward to seeing the Chief's vision play out as we continue
the Department's reform and reorganization. Post January 6th,
studies in reports also highlighted shortcomings in the Board.
As Chair in 2021, and again in 2023, it has been my
priority to make the Board more responsive, more transparent,
and accountable. We have significantly reformed the way the
Board operates. We revised our manual of procedures and abide
by it in our daily operation. We follow industry best practices
and procedures in our actions and in our frequent communication
with stakeholders.
I am pleased that the Government Accountability Office
recognizes our significant progress in implementing leading
practices, having closed a longstanding open recommendation
about Board operations. We are working to close recommendations
from three more recent reports and are committed to responding
to such observations swiftly. We have also made great strides
in transparency.
For the first time, the Board holds bicameral security
forums at least twice a year with congressional leadership and
leaders of our oversight committees. For the first time in at
least six years, the Board is clearing Inspector General
reports for public release. Since May, we have formally
released four reports, and two others are under review with
more to follow.
I have heard varied opinions on the Capitol Police Board's
structure. The informed security decisions we make must be
considered in an objective and responsive forum. The current
Board configuration provides such an environment and I believe
our composition is the appropriate structure for advancing the
security needs of the legislative branch in an agile,
objective, nonpartisan, and bicameral manner.
It has been 28 months since I joined the Capitol Police
Board when I was sworn in as the 42d Sergeant at Arms and
Doorkeeper of the United States Senate. I am humbled by the
tremendous mission I am entrusted with, and by the dedicated
public servants who help me execute my responsibilities.
I am very proud of the progress we have made to improve
security at the Capitol. I take heart in our successes. I
acknowledge the need for additional improvement, and I remain
absolutely committed to enhancing the security of the Capitol
and the safety of Members, staff, and the millions of visitors
who walk our halls. I must always thank the brave men and women
of the Capitol Police dedicated to keeping us safe, as well as
the hardworking employees of our respective staffs.
Thank you for your continued trust and support, and for the
honor of serving our great nation in this capacity. I thank you
again for the opportunity to appear and look forward to your
questions.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Gibson was submitted for the
record.]
Chairwoman Klobuchar. Yes, I think--yes, Mr. McFarland.
[[Page 10]]
OPENING STATEMENT OF HONORABLE WILLIAM MCFARLAND, ACTING
SERGEANT AT ARMS, UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
WASHINGTON, DC
Mr. McFarland. Chairman Steil, Ranking Member Morelle,
Senator Klobuchar, Senator Fischer, and distinguished Members
of the Committee on the House Administration and Senate Rules
and Administration, thank you for the opportunity to testify
today at the first joint hearing on the Capitol Police Board.
My testimony focuses on my objectives for the Capitol
Police Board, oversight and accountability, innovation and
transparency. Not coincidentally, these values align with the
objectives and strategic plan I have established for my own
team at the House Sergeant at Arms.
I believe that when the Capitol Police embodies these
values, it functions at its best. Since starting as the House
Sergeant at Arms in January, my first goal has been to increase
oversight and accountability on the United States Capitol
Police Board and working with my counterparts to reform the way
we operate.
At its core, the Capitol Police Board serves as an
oversight body to the United States Capitol Police. The Board
focuses on strategic decisions and makes sure the United States
Capitol Police identifies and takes appropriate operational
measures to implement those decisions.
Accordingly, the Chief serves as that--as that operational
head of the United States Capitol Police force. In accordance
with this approach, the Board is currently working on the
Chief's yearly review and establishing the goals for the
upcoming year.
In my role on the Board, I will hold him accountable for
filling those goals and will support his team however I can.
The Board has also reformed the way it works with the United
States Capitol Police Inspector General to increase oversight
and accountability of the Department.
We have closely partnered with the United States Capitol
Police IG to close IG recommendations, with a particular
emphasis on those that were included in the flash reports after
January 6th. In the spirit of transparency, and as part of my
office leadership in the United States Capitol Police IG
Working Group, the Capitol Police Board has improved the public
release, with appropriate redactions, of IG reports concerning
the Capitol Police.
We are actively working those additional reports. It is
always hard to strike the balance between publicly releasing
information and maintaining security. But consistent with the
instructions received from the legislative branch's
Appropriations subcommittee, four IG reports have been released
over the past months and a number of others are pending. The
public release of four reports this year is a new approach for
the Board.
As we iron out the processes associated with public
release, I am confident we can increase the speed in which
these reports are released. While I am optimistic about the
progress we made closing United States Capitol Police IG
recommendations and publicly posting reports, following last
week's hearing, it is clear that we have more work to do in
maintaining transparency and clear communication with our
committees of oversight.
[[Page 11]]
I am committed to further improvements in both areas and
holding the United States Capitol Police IG responsible for
doing the same. We are focused on reviewing the remaining
Fiscal Year 2023 IG reports first. Leaning forward, we have
asked the IG for a list of all reports issued prior to Fiscal
Year 2023, so the working group can expand the amount of
reports we are releasing.
Continue to the theme of reforming the way the Board
operates, I am also pleased to report that the GAO
recommendation concerning the Board adopting corporate best
practices about accountability, transparency, and communication
was closed earlier this year. There is still work to be done to
improve the way we operate as an oversight board.
One area of focus going forward is timely closure of GAO
recommendations that were issued after the January 6th review.
I am holding myself and my partners on the Board accountable
for timely completion of these recommendations.
Significant improvement is needed in the timely completion
of security projects around the campus. While the inception of
many of these projects predate my time on the Board, it is an
accountability focus of mine to ensure that the Capitol, our
beacon of democracy and the capital of the free world, receives
much needed enhancements for which Congress has provided
generous support.
I look forward to working closely with my counterparts on
the Board and the committees of jurisdiction on my side as we
continue to reform the way we operate. During my tenure on the
Board, I have also focused on fostering a spirit of innovation
within the Capitol Police and the Capitol Police Board.
One important accomplishment on this front is the recent
reorganization proposal of the United States Capitol Police. I
understand and value the input the Committees have in the
process and appreciate your support in moving this forward.
Prospectively, I believe a significant innovation reform
would be use of manpower. The Capitol Police have a significant
number of officers spread across a wide range of missions. I
think there are improvements that can be made to ensure that
officers are used for their best and highest use.
I look forward to challenging the Chief and the Department
to evaluate this area. For example, filling the civilian
vacancies within the Department to reach the allocated civilian
staffing levels can help. Doing so, can help free sworn
personnel to perform duties that only sworn officers can
perform.
This, in turn, can allow officers to take much needed time
off and allow greater access to take vital training. I would
also like to see the Department move forward with promotions to
fill up many of the acting positions officials are serving
today while instilling accountable leadership culture. I also
firmly believe that United States Capitol Police Board and the
Capitol Police must continue to focus on operating
transparently with our stakeholders.
The Capitol Police Board and the Capitol Police must be
transparent with stakeholders about the processes and inputs
that go into decision-making. We must feel comfortable in the
appropriate forum explaining why we made the decisions we did.
The Capitol Police Board will not always agree. A
constructive dialog around opposing views can lead into new
discoveries and im
[[Page 12]]
prove the ways--way that we operate. In closing, my tenure as a
Sergeant at Arms and my actions on the Capitol Police Board
have focused on three goals, oversight and accountability,
innovation, and transparency.
These goals have guided my past actions and will continue
to help guide my service on the Board, in the future, and in
continuing to reform the way we operate. Thank you again for
the opportunity to testify before you.
[The prepared statement of Mr. McFarland was submitted for
the record.]
Chairwoman Klobuchar. Thank you very much. Ms. Rexroat.
OPENING STATEMENT OF CHERE REXROAT, ACTING ARCHITECT OF THE
CAPITOL, ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL, WASHINGTON, DC
Ms. Rexroat. Good afternoon. Good afternoon, Chairwoman
Klobuchar, Chairman Steil, Ranking Member Fischer, and Ranking
Member Morelle, and distinguished Members of the Committees and
thank you again for the opportunity to discuss the work of the
Capitol Police Board.
As a member of the Board, the AOC remains dedicated to our
partnership with the House and Senate Sergeant at Arms and the
United States Capitol Police to ensure that we meet the needs
of the congressional community.
I would like to begin with an acknowledgment of how truly
grateful I am for the AOC hardworking staff, mission focused
employees who come every day to make sure that the functions of
Congress, the Supreme Court, and the Library of Congress are
met.
Over the past five months, I have met with the Committees,
stakeholders, and board members to gain an understanding of
their concerns, issues, and priorities. As highlighted in the
Fiscal Year 2024 budget hearings, my focus remains, safety,
security, and accountability.
The AOC continues to make strides and effectively
addressing these priorities, but understandably, there is more
work to do. In coordination with the Board and the Capitol
Police, the AOC repaired the facility damage from January 6,
2020--or 2021 and implemented various physical security
measures to increase the security of the Capitol complex. We
completed the planning and programing required to fully execute
the Fiscal Year 2023 security supplemental, and those
construction projects are scheduled to begin this fall.
The other related physical security projects are in various
stages of acquisition and execution. We will continue
coordinating with the Board to ensure these projects include
the latest technical requirements. As discussed with your
staffs, some of these projects and improvements are visible,
while others are not.
We stand ready to provide a status briefing on any specific
project in a secure environment. To help address the speed of
project execution and expedite the acquisition process, we are
hiring two contracting officers that will be assigned to the
Office of the Chief Security Officer.
Another initiative to help facilitate the overall program
will be the establishment of a temporary program management
office to
[[Page 13]]
assist with project administration and execution. Similarly, to
improve transparency of the planning and implementation
process, the AOC will resume the monthly action officer
meetings with representatives of all board agencies.
We will restart the formal project coordination process
within the Board to ensure the planned projects fully address
the requirements and concerns. We will also continue our
monthly meetings so that we can standardize notification and
quarterly status updates. In addition to balancing the physical
and safety requirements, the AOC actively participates in the
Emergency Management Task Force developed drills and exercises.
Likewise, we have increased the number of officer emergency
coordinators and continue to develop comprehensive emergency
training and the programs available to all staff.
On behalf of our dedicated servants who carry out our
mission every day, I want to thank you for your time and your
support, and your acknowledgment of what the AOC--and our role
on the Board.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Rexroat was submitted for
the record.]
Chairwoman Klobuchar. Thank you very, very much. Last up,
Chief Manger.
OPENING STATEMENT OF J. THOMAS MANGER, CHIEF OF POLICE, UNITED
STATES CAPITOL POLICE, WASHINGTON, DC
Mr. Manger. Chairwoman Klobuchar, Chairman Steil, Ranking
Member Fischer, Ranking Member Morelle, and Members of the
Committee, thank you for the opportunity to provide both
Committees with an overview of the comprehensive security
improvements we have implemented to keep our campus safe.
When I was sworn in two years ago, the Department was in
the midst of dealing with multiple Inspector General and
Committee after action reports detailing the failures and
improvements needed related to January 6th. However, far and
away, the most serious issue was staffing. The USCP was--not
only woefully understaffed to meet its mission, but it was also
losing more employees than it was able to hire.
To date, the Department, with the support of Congress, has
been successful in getting ahead of attrition, bringing on 549
officers since March 2020. The current number of sworn
employees on the Department is 2,010, which includes recruits
at the USCP Academy and FLETC. While still below, the
Department's authorized level of 2,126 sworn officers has
allowed us to reopen the campus and provide critical training
for our officers.
These staffing enhancements have allowed us to make
substantial improvements to the Department. It has enabled the
USCP to stand up an intelligence bureau capable of collecting,
analyzing, sharing, operationalizing, and disseminating
intelligence.
The Department has implemented additional wellness programs
and services, including the onboarding of trauma informed
employee assistance counselors and wellness specialists. We
distributed new civil disturbance equipment to our sworn
officers and ensured that the officers have received updated
CDU training.
[[Page 14]]
We obtained funding for our Dignitary Protection Division
to travel and protect Members of Congress here and around the
country. With a 300 percent increase in threat cases against
Members of Congress, we have updated Department technology to
enhance investigative capabilities.
We have also re-engineered our training capabilities, and
we have adopted industry best practices with the use of virtual
scenario training to include active shooter training in the
very buildings we need to protect. We have been tasked in the
last two years to close out over 150 Inspector General and
after action report recommendations.
At the same time, we are developing and implementing a
transformational change within the Department. All the while,
we must maintain the staffing and resources needed to carry out
the Department's daily core mission. While the big picture
reforms are significant and important, staffing daily mission
requirements are also vital. We engage in a no fail mission
every day. It is my responsibility as Chief to pay attention to
all of the Department's needs.
At this time, I cannot overstate how great our resource
needs are for the Protective Services Bureau. The sheer
increase in the number of threats against Members of Congress
requires new and innovative techniques to identify, deter, and
mitigate threats before they materialize.
Over the last year, a Member of Congress was brutally
assaulted. Another Member was attacked on the campaign trail.
The husband of a former House speaker was critically wounded in
an attack. A Member--and a Member's district staff was attacked
by a baseball bat wielding intruder.
These events demonstrate how the Capitol Police need to
increase our focus on protecting Members, their families, and
staff throughout the country, not merely in Washington, DC.
One of the Department's greatest challenges right now is
the retention of our dignitary protection agents and
investigative division agents. Prior to January 6th, DPD was
staffed with 218 agents. Currently, DPD has 174 fully trained
agents. This staffing level is unsustainable for DPD. Agents
are averaging nearly 50 hours of overtime per pay period.
We are again on pace this year to receive approximately
8,000 threat assessment cases. Threat assessment agents carry
an average annual caseload of nearly 500 cases. This pace
cannot be maintained, and we must have the ability to continue
our hiring efforts in this critical area. The Department, with
the Board's assistance, are working to remedy this situation.
Many of the strategies to address these challenges were
included in our Fiscal Year 2023 and 2024 budget.
These strategies include additional positions, and 1811 law
enforcement series status, and leap pay, both of which would
positively impact our recruitment efforts and slow attrition in
our Protection Services Bureau.
To address our staffing issues in the short term, we
continue to work with our state and local law enforcement
agencies in the Members' home districts for protective detail
support through the
[[Page 15]]
MOU process. I am pleased to report today on the great progress
that we have made.
While there are still improvements that are underway, I
assure the Committees that the United States--that the brave
men and women of the United States Capitol Police stand ready
to protect and defend this campus without fail.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Manger was submitted for the
record.]
Chairwoman Klobuchar. Thank you very much, Chief. We have a
number of Members here from the House and Senate, so I will
stay within my five minutes. We ask that your answers be brief.
I know that is hard for Senators, but we will. Acting Architect
Rexroat, we are at the height of the tourist season, there are
people everywhere, it is really actually quite wonderful to
see. We have had more than one million visitors so far this
year at the Capitol Visitor Center. Have staff and volunteers
at the visitor center kept pace with the increased volume of
visitors?
Ms. Rexroat. Thank you for the question. Yes, ma'am. My
understanding is that they have.
Chairwoman Klobuchar. Okay, very good. Thank you. General
Gibson, quick question. The Board established a process last
year for reviewing and making public Capitol Police Inspector
General reports public, and four were released this year.
It is important for increasing transparency at the
Department, while at the same time, we know you have to protect
sensitive security information. Are you committed to making
additional Inspector General reports public? What is the
expected timeline?
Ms. Gibson. Absolutely, Senator. Thank you for that
question. I am absolutely committed to making those reports
public once they have been through a security review. It is an
effort we began with this Congress.
Our first step was to establish the process and an
understanding across all the entities who played a role on how
we would proceed, and then we began. I realize we have not
released them publicly at the rate that is desired. I think Mr.
McFarland did a great job of outlining our approach
collectively to accelerate that in the future.
Chairwoman Klobuchar. Thank you. Chief Manger, you talked
about restoring morale at the Department, hiring new officers,
how important that is, while working to retain those already in
the ranks. To buildup the Department and stay ahead of
attrition has been a top priority for you.
Talk about how the funding has helped. Both houses have
worked on funding. Then talk about how you are using this
funding in terms of what you talked about, the threat
assessment, the Members and safety at home and the like, and
what more resources you need.
Mr. Manger. The funding has helped in a number of ways.
One, it has made us more competitive in terms of being able to
attract applicants to the Department. It has assisted us in
strategies to retain officers so that we--our attrition rate
has gone down. Most of the increases in my budget requests are
directly tied to staffing.
In the beginning we needed to get USB up to staff so we
could reopen the campus and staff all the posts that need to be
staffed
[[Page 16]]
around the campus. Now the focus is on our Protective Services
Bureau to--and there is a number of strategies that we are--you
will see in the coming months and in the next year that will
assist us in getting lateral transfers over to our DPD section
and investigative agents, as well as allowing our officers to,
some officers, when they get hired to go directly to DPD.
They would not have to do time in USB if they--we will put
them through the training, and they will go directly to DPD.
All of that is meant to increase the numbers in DPD as quickly
as we can.
Chairwoman Klobuchar. Can you speak to the role of the
Department's field offices and the three special assistant
United States attorneys at San Francisco, Tampa, and
Washington, and help in other areas, I believe, in coordinating
responses to Members' threats, what is the status of the
Department's effort to open additional offices?
Mr. Manger. They have really only been in effect for about
a year or so, so we are still evaluating their effectiveness.
But I can tell you anecdotally that there have--they have been
a big help in terms of being able to deploy from their
locations much more quickly and efficiently than it would be
for us to send folks out from DC--for a number of threat cases.
They are subject matter experts for all of our
investigators as we are investigating those threats and looking
toward the possibility of prosecution. They have the subject
matter experts that assist us. Right now, our hope is to open
up three additional field offices over the next year or so,
Milwaukee, Boston, and somewhere in Texas. So, and----
Chairwoman Klobuchar. It is a big state, so but----
Mr. Manger. It is, but we will find a place.
Chairwoman Klobuchar. All right. Excellent. Chief, one last
question. You talked about the proposed reorganization, and Mr.
McFarland also mentioned it, to help the Department to carry
out its mission. Could you talk about, have you gotten input
and communicated with rank and file officers during the
process? That is obviously important to us, to Gus--that
rhymed--and to all those involved.
Mr. Manger. Almost any decision I make is informed by my
discussions with the rank and file and with the FOP. As I--I
try not to ever pass an officer without stopping and talking to
them for a few minutes and you get a real idea of what their
issues are, what their needs are, what--and that is how I
quickly understood that the biggest issue that we face was
staffing, for the reasons that you discussed earlier about, you
know, holding people over and canceling days off. That we
needed to get to a staffing level where that is not happening
every day, too frequently.
Chairwoman Klobuchar. Very good. Thank you. Chairman Steil.
Mr. Steil. Thank you very much. I started my opening
remarks talking about the, one of my priorities is really to
de-politicize Capitol security.
Mr. McFarland, I know you share this goal with me, and I
want to thank you for your leadership in bringing greater
transparency and accountability to the Board. As you know, the
United States
[[Page 17]]
Capitol Police Office of Inspector General is required to make
their reports public. You referenced that in your opening
remark.
As we noted, only two reports were made public prior to
this hearing--or in the near future you obviously increased
that and doubled it in the lead up to this hearing. Appreciate
making progress. Question for you.
It was referenced, you are building out a policy. Is there
a written policy regarding the process for approving the public
release of Inspector General reports or is that an informal
process that the Board has?
Mr. McFarland. Sir, the way it refers--I think that the IG
process works is the United States Capitol Police IG, after it
reviews everything it proposes, redactions, it is sent then to
the Capitol Police Office of the General Counsel, where they
also take a look at it.
They propose redactions. It is then sent to the Inspector
General Working Group that we currently chair. Then this is
where we either propose our own redactions or we ask for
concurrence.
It then goes to the Capitol Police Board. We vote on it,
and then once we vote on it, then it gets published.
Mr. Steil. In that voting, do you feel that the Board then
has the final say on making those publicly available?
Mr. McFarland. That the Board does, yes.
Mr. Steil. The Board holds that--has the authority. Thank
you, and I appreciate the work you are doing on that. Ms.
Gibson, thanks for being here at the hearing as well. I think
you would agree that both the Senate Rules Committee and
independently the Committee on House Administration have
oversight jurisdiction over the United States Capitol Police
Board, right?
Ms. Gibson. Of course.
Mr. Steil. You are currently the Chair of the United States
Capitol Police Board. For the most part, in the role of the
Chair of the Board, is that mostly administrative or is there
any other practices that would be unique to the chair, as all
board members are voting equally correct?
Ms. Gibson. All board members are voting equally. All board
members have a say and participate in deliberations.
The role of the chair is largely administrative. It is, you
know, hosting the meetings typically held in our spaces. It is
assisting with administrative requirements and setting the
agenda. I have never known any time when a board member has
been denied the opportunity to introduce an item to our agenda.
Mr. Steil. Perfect. Do you agree that the Committee on
House Administration has oversight jurisdiction over the
Chairperson of the Board as it relates to the role of the
Board?
Ms. Gibson. That is an interesting question, Chairman. I
honestly never contemplated that as an oversight role separate
from my role as an officer of the Senate.
Mr. Steil. I would go back, and you sent me a letter in
your capacity as Chair of the Capitol Police Board objecting to
actions taken by the Committee on the House Administration.
I think there is a dialog that we should have a little bit.
But in the role as Chair of the Capitol Police Board, I think--
the Com
[[Page 18]]
mittee House Administration does have oversight. I understand
we do not, if it is in your role as Senate Sergeant at Arms.
I would like to insert to the record the letter that you
wrote dated June 6, 2023, signed by you as Chair of the Capitol
Police Board, making those comments.
[The information referred to was submitted for the record.]
Mr. Steil. Let me move on, though. In your opening remarks,
you noted that the Capitol is secure. You were also a member of
former Speaker Pelosi's post January 6th on a raid task force,
which raised multiple security concerns in the report regarding
the Capitol complex and provided pretty significant
recommendations. Of those recommendations that you were a part
of, have those all been completed?
Ms. Gibson. The vast majority of them have been, I believe.
We certainly can get back to you on that. I know that the one
on introducing horses into the Department is not. It is not a
recommendation that the Department has chosen to adopt, and
there may be a few others like that.
Mr. Steil. Inside the--a sufficient number have been
resolved that you feel confident in saying that the Capitol is
secure?
Ms. Gibson. Yes.
Mr. Steil. Okay. Let me jump back to you, Mr. McFarland, in
the final minutes that I have, just to turn our attention to
the 2017 Government Accountability Office report, where the GAO
did an analysis of the Board's operation, and it found that the
United States Capitol Police Department's tactical decisions
were being made by the Board or the responsibility of the
Board.
An example of that would be the uniform standards in
issuing of gear, a pretty tactical, less strategic decision-
making process. I would like to see the Board operating a
little bit more strategically than tactically. Can you comment
as to the reforms you could make? I know we are short on time,
but maybe very briefly.
Mr. McFarland. Sure, sir. What I suggest is on little
things like that, when it talks about the clothing of the
Capitol Police, I do think that the Chief should make the
ultimate decision on that. I do not think it should be a board
recommendation.
Mr. Steil. Thanks. I think there is a broad idea here as to
how we get the Board to operate strategically, not tactically,
so we can focus on oversight, de-politicizing Capitol Police
security, and supporting the men and women of the Capitol
Police. Thank you all for being here. I yield back.
Chairwoman Klobuchar. Very good. Senator Fischer.
Senator Fischer. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you,
Chairman Steil. Chief Manger, you have proposed to restructure
the Department to prioritize accountability, internal controls,
and employee development. Your proposal creates several new
positions, including a third Assistant Chief of Police.
There are also several current positions, including your
two current Assistant Chiefs of Police that remain occupied by
acting personnel. What is your strategy and timeline for
filling these open positions with some permanent appointees?
Mr. Manger. I have said from the day I got here that I was
not going to make those promotions with the upper ranks because
that would just deplete the lower ranks and we could not afford
to do
[[Page 19]]
that. However, we are in a position right now where we have
just completed promotional processes and I am looking to make
promotions throughout the ranks by the end of the summer.
Senator Fischer. That is good to hear. Thank you. Many law
enforcement agencies are having trouble maintaining appropriate
staffing levels. What programs have you implemented to improve
recruitment and retention at the Department? You have been
successful. What impact have they had on those programs?
Mr. Manger. First of all, I would have to thank Congress
for changing our pay scale, which made us very competitive. The
fact that we are able to fund the retention bonus each year,
student loan repayment program, a number of other benefits that
we are able to offer our officers that other Departments do
not.
We, as much as I read and hear from my colleagues about
difficulty in recruiting people, thankfully we have not had
that problem. We get over a thousand applications every month.
Senator Fischer. Remind me what the number is now on
officers with the Department.
Mr. Manger. We have 2,010 officers. Now, that includes
officers that are in the academy as well.
Senator Fischer. What is your goal?
Mr. Manger. Our authorized strength is currently 2,126.
However, I am hopeful, if the Fiscal Year 2024 budget passes,
that bumps up to 2,204.
Senator Fischer. On the assistant positions that I
mentioned earlier, are you looking at drawing from current
officers within the Department, or do you anticipate to look
outside? I assume you are on that road right now when you said
you were hoping to fill those positions with permanent people
by the end of summer.
Mr. Manger. Yes, we are in the process now. We have gotten
applications both from inside the Department and outside, and
all will be considered.
Senator Fischer. Okay. Thank you. Also, Congress has
provided specific mutual aid funding for the Department to
reimburse other law enforcement agencies that assist the
Department's protection of Members at events in their home
states. Can you describe that process for conducting outreach
to these agencies and how the Department ensures collaborative
information sharing to support those mission requirements?
Mr. Manger. Where we know that there are either leadership
or Members who have threats that we are dealing with, we are
proactive in reaching out to local law enforcement. Where we
get requests from any Member of Congress for a law enforcement
coordination if they are doing a town hall meeting or whatever
in their home district, we are proactively contacting the state
or local agency that can assist and formulating a memorandum of
understanding so that we can reimburse them for their
assistance in that home district.
Senator Fischer. Have you found that cooperation, that
collaboration, to be positive?
Mr. Manger. Very positive. Now, there are--some of our
Members live in small towns where the Departments cannot
necessarily give us the assistance that we are looking for. But
then we look
[[Page 20]]
beyond the town to the county or the state. But it is all very
positive.
Senator Fischer. When you look to the state, do you have a
pretty good relationship then with the Governor's Office, say?
Has state patrol been involved in this?
Mr. Manger. Well, we go directly to the law enforcement
agency. Yes, the cooperation is always very good.
Senator Fischer. Okay. This is for any member of the Board
to answer. As we look at these threats against Congress and
Members of Congress, they are increasing, not just physical,
but online and through technology that we use on a daily basis.
How are your agencies working together to mitigate
cybersecurity threats that target the technology infrastructure
of the legislative branch? General.
Ms. Gibson. I will take that one, Senator, because I
think--as I am responsible for cybersecurity in the United
States Senate, as you know, and my House counterpart is the
Chief Administrative Officer.
We have a very robust and capable cybersecurity team within
the Senate Sergeant at Arms CIO shop. They work closely--they
have access to a number of commercial vendors to provide
additional support. We collaborate very closely with the
Capitol Police and the House Chief Administrative Officer on
cyber threats, as well as the Architect has some cyber security
responsibilities as well.
Together, we are working to enhance relationships with
external entities like the FBI, DHS, and others who have access
to sensitive threat information that does not readily make its
way to the legislative branch. While there is still
considerable work to be done, I am very pleased with the
progress that we are beginning to make in that regard.
Senator Fischer. Thank you, General. Thank you, Madam
Chair.
Mr. Steil. I now recognize Ranking Member Morelle for five
minutes.
Mr. Morelle. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you again to my
colleagues. Thank you all. I want to start, if I can, Chief
Manger, with asking a little bit about, again, emotional health
and wellness.
I also want to acknowledge Gus Papathanasiou. You know, I
do not know, that is probably not--I am not terribly good with
Greek names, a little better with Italian, but Gus, thank you
for all your work. Chief, thank you for your courtesies.
Having us over at the operations center and meeting with
senior staff, I think has helped me and my staff get a much
better handle.
When you are there and you are talking to people, and you
are able to ask some questions about operations, certainly
helps, at least for me to take theoretical ideas and it makes
them much more tangible.
But I want to go back to some eye opening comments,
particularly around the wellness program you offer through the
Howie Liebengood Center. Can you just give an overview from
your perspective of how that is going and how the program is
progressing?
Mr. Manger. Well, I am very happy to report, and I think
this is the first time I have been asked about this at every
hearing, but I--we have 16 full-time employees in the wellness
center currently, and we are still building.
[[Page 21]]
We have--it is an employee assistance program. It is a peer
support program. It is a wellness program. We have trauma
informed counselors so it can--we can deal with PTSD problems
with--for the officers. We have also provided critical incident
stress management training. One hundred and fourteen of our
employees have taken advantage of it. We have got 87 more that
are signed up to take that training.
We are going to have folks, peer support assistance all
throughout the Department. But our wellness program tries to
address--we have looked at what is working around the country
at wellness programs, and we have tried to get these best
practices to make sure that we are addressing all of the needs
that our Department has.
But we are also doing a formal needs assessment where we
will hear from everybody in the organization about what they
would like to see. This is informing us as we continue to build
this program.
Mr. Morelle. If you are having interaction with officers
and members of the force, what has the feedback been from your
perspective of the things that they would like to see that you
have not been able to do yet? Or is it being received well? I
mean, just give a sense for how the members are dealing with
it.
Mr. Manger. It runs the gamut. I mean, you have got some
officers that say, you know, I want to get in better shape
physically. I want to improve my nutrition. You have got other
officers that are dealing with very difficult emotional
problems, some at home, some to do with work. It is just a
matter of having all of those services available to folks.
Mr. Morelle. Is it--is there access 24 hours a day? I do
not know how it works in terms of--I mean, if a member is
having a crisis in the middle of the night, do they--is it
open? Can they access it?
Mr. Manger. You know, I will have to--I am fairly certain
there is, because we certainly when we need someone from the
wellness center, we can get them 24/7. That certainly will be
part of the way we operate. I do not know if we are there yet,
but it certainly is the goal.
Mr. Morelle. In terms of recruits, do they receive wellness
training throughout the Federal law enforcement training
center? Do you know if that is part of the----
Mr. Manger. It is. It is just basically an introduction
course. We talk about the importance of understanding how the
job can impact you, the stress of the job can impact you, what
services are available, and how to deal with that stress in as
healthy a manner as one can. Yes, they get familiarized with
that in the academy.
Mr. Morelle. Yes, I would love to continue to be supportive
of that. If there is other things that we ought to be doing, we
would love to have that conversation.
Just to shift gears, earlier this month, a Federal Judge in
the case, Missouri v. Biden, issued a pretty wide ranging
preliminary injunction restricting the Government's
communication with social media companies that bars the
executive branch from engaging with platforms on content
moderation issues, with a few exceptions.
[[Page 22]]
I am just curious if you have been tracking the case and
whether or not because, while it does not deal with the
legislative branch directly, it does with partners like the FBI
and Department of Justice on intelligence gathering.
Has this impacted your ability to work threat cases and
gather intelligence? Has it had an impact at all?
Mr. Manger. Not to my knowledge. I will get back to you, I
will talk to my folks, but not to my knowledge.
Mr. Morelle. Then, I do not have enough time, but I am
going to follow-up offline. Just want to continue to ask
questions about artificial intelligence and how you see that
essentially as a tool, and also how you see it as a potential
threat. I probably will come back to all of you in that regard.
Thank you, sir.
Chairwoman Klobuchar. Thank you very much, Representative
Morelle. We have been joined by a number of Senators, including
Senator Ossoff, Senator Britt, Senator Capito, Senator Welch is
with us, and I appreciate him allowing Senator Bennet to go
before him because Senator Bennet has another time commitment.
Senator Bennet.
Senator Bennet. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you very much
to my colleague from Vermont for letting me jump in line just
for a moment. I really appreciate it. Chief. I apologize, I
missed some of the earlier testimony. I want to go back to
something you said. Your authorized force is going to be 2,200,
you think, if there is--if the----
Mr. Manger. If the Fiscal Year 2024 budget is approved.
Senator Bennet. You are up to 2,000 now, so you are 200 or
so short at this point. How big are your academy classes?
Mr. Manger. They generally run around 24 to 25 officers.
Senator Bennet. How often do they run?
Mr. Manger. Nearly every month.
Senator Bennet. How long do you--I mean, if you are able to
fill those classes, how long do you think it is going to take
you to be able to get to the authorized--?
Mr. Manger. You know, realistically, we seemed to, in the
last few years, we seemed to get about a hundred head of
attrition each year. To get 200 would be 2 years, that is my
guess.
Senator Bennet. What--in a long ago, long faraway place, I
was the Chief of Staff to a Mayor of Denver whose name was John
Hickenlooper. I do not know whatever happened to that guy but
he----
[Laughter.]
Senator Bennet. I can remember, you know, in the work that
we did there, there are challenges when you are building a
police department. You know, sometimes poor management before
you means you have got a lot of attrition and you cannot find
the people you need.
Sometimes there are too many--you know, you have got a long
lag in hiring because of budget things. We have--you are in a
very interesting position, I think, in part because people saw
both the events of January 6th, but also, you know, heard how
uncompetitive the pay was at some point, how poorly budgeted
this was.
Obviously, we have made a lot of progress. But I wonder if
you could use this opportunity to tell us what you are telling
people
[[Page 23]]
who are thinking about whether they ought to try to join the
Capitol Police force.
What is your recruiting pitch about why they should come
and how they should think about the bad news that maybe
hopefully is in the rearview mirror?
Mr. Manger. Well, there are a lot of ways to serve your
country, but this is one of the finest ways to serve your
country by serving with Capitol Police. People truly get a
front row seat to history.
This is not--you know, I have worked and grew up in two
other police departments and they were very different from this
police department. There are a lot of folks that this kind of
job, the protection part of it, the service to their country,
being a part of--being in this historic campus appeals to them.
I think we have been blessed to have no trouble getting
people to apply.
Senator Bennet. Do you think, I mean, and you mentioned
earlier, I just want to underscore for people who might be
listening that the compensation now is competitive in ways that
it was not before.
Mr. Manger. Absolutely. An officer, the day they stepped
out of the academy, is making $74,000 a year. That is pretty
good.
Senator Bennet. Do you, Mr. McFarland, I wonder, do you
have anything that you would like to add on the questions about
mental health, in particular the services that we are providing
or that you are providing in support of the Chief's mission
here?
Mr. McFarland. Sure. At the request of certain members, I
have actually reached out to Ms. Liebengood personally to talk
to her exactly what she thought the mission should be. I think
there was a disconnect in the beginning of what the wellness
center, you know, what she envisioned and what the wellness
center kind of envisioned.
But I think together, by having these discussions, I think
we have gotten in on the right track and I am fully supportive
of the Chief and how it has been working out so far.
Senator Bennet. You did not--I heard the Chief's numbers in
terms of people that it asked to--those sounded a little bit
lower than I might have expected, given everything that we
are--we have been confronting. I wonder if you have any
reaction.
Mr. McFarland. No, I think 16 people right now for starting
out is adequate. I would like to see the numbers go higher, but
I think it is trying to find out a good baseline of where we
are right now.
Senator Bennet. I just have 30 seconds left, so that is
lucky for you, Ms. Gibson, because I was going to come to you
with a question but let me make an observation.
You know, when people come from Colorado, I think it is
really important for them to feel like these buildings are
accessible to them and there are entrances that have been
closed, you know, some of it after January 6th.
Some of it, I think, goes back to the sequester, the budget
stuff several years ago. The one that drives me craziest is the
second floor of the Russell Building where you know that
entrances in huge block letters, entrance closed, which for
many people is the first--their first view of our--of their
building, of the place that they are supposed to be able to
have access.
[[Page 24]]
I wonder if there is a plan to think about reopening some
of those entrances now that we are in the position that we are
in today, and in particular that one.
Ms. Gibson. Thank you, Senator. I appreciate that feedback.
That is something we will work with the Department. You know,
we have prioritized the doors that would open based on their
growing numbers, and certainly that is one that we can look at
where it falls in the broader scheme of continuing to man posts
as the Department grows larger.
Senator Bennet. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Mr. Steil. Mr. Griffith is recognized for five minutes.
Mr. Griffith. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Chief Manger, I
appreciate your candor and willingness to answer questions
earlier this year regarding a separation agreement of former
Acting Chief of Police Pittman, which resulted in her
retirement with full benefits.
I think you are transparent, and I appreciate that, and
thank you for that. I think you are one of the good guys, but I
am kind of like a dog with a bone.
Regarding Ms. Pittman's separation agreement, was the
United States Capitol Police's General Counsel, Thomas DiBiase,
acting as your personal attorney or the attorney for the United
States Capitol Police?
Mr. Manger. For the Capitol Police.
Mr. Griffith. Are you aware that the United States Capitol
Police's General Counsel, DiBiase, in a transcribed interview
has attempted to invoke attorney client privilege, yes or no?
Mr. Manger. Yes.
Mr. Griffith. If yes, did you instruct him to do so?
Mr. Manger. No.
Mr. Griffith. Okay. Notwithstanding the fact that attorney
client privilege does not apply in my opinion in this case,
because this is a legislative branch investigating a
legislative branch entity, common law established practice, and
the Congressional Oversight Manual stand for the proposition
that there is no attorney client privilege in such cases.
Notwithstanding that this Committee or Congress might be
the client, as opposed to you in your official capacity, if you
are in fact the client, would you waive the attorney client
privilege between you and lawyer DiBiase, yes or no?
Mr. Manger. I trust his judgment on the attorney client--
the use of the attorney client privilege.
Mr. Griffith. Do you understand that--I do not think it is
your privilege? But if it is, it is not his privilege, it is
your privilege. The lawyer does not have that privilege, you
do. If it is, in fact, your privilege, would you be willing to
waive?
Mr. Manger. I would take my attorney's advice.
Mr. Griffith. Well, it is a privilege. It belongs to you.
It does not belong to your attorney.
Mr. Manger. I understand that.
Mr. Griffith. If he is giving you advice on that, that
would be a conflict of interest for him, do you understand
that? You would need to get separate counsel for that.
Mr. Manger. I deal with my General Counsel all the time on
these issues, and I trust his advice.
[[Page 25]]
Mr. Griffith. All right. I understand you trust his advice,
but this is specific between you and he, and therefore he would
have a conflict in advising you on this. I suggest you get
separate counsel for that. Ms. Gibson, are you familiar with
the separation agreement entered into between the United States
Capitol Police and former Acting Chief of Police Pittman, yes
or no?
Ms. Gibson. I am familiar with that.
Senator Bennet. But you were not involved in that
discussions, as I understand it. From the----
Ms. Gibson. That is correct.
Senator Bennet. The good Chief has told us that before.
Ms. Gibson. Right. The Board was not aware of that
agreement until the testimony before this Committee.
Mr. Griffith. Okay. Have you all as a Board discussed this
separation agreement after the fact? Have you all had
discussions regarding this agreement and how it came about?
Ms. Gibson. We have.
Mr. Griffith. Have you had those discussions with Attorney
DiBiase?
Ms. Gibson. I do not recall Mr. DiBiase being present.
Mr. Griffith. He was not privy to those discussions?
Ms. Gibson. No.
Mr. Griffith. Was Chief Manger privy to those discussions?
Ms. Gibson. Yes. I mean, we discussed this at a board
meeting following----
Mr. Griffith. Did he discuss with you the attorneys advice
that was given to him?
Ms. Gibson. That I do not recall. I actually think it was--
our discussion was more--well, we see the management of
personnel within the Department to be within the Chief's
purview, back to the tactical versus strategic. It was a
significant event that we would have appreciated knowing about
in advance.
Mr. Griffith. Okay.
Ms. Gibson. That was really the extent of our----
Mr. Griffith. Same questions to the other two members. Did
you all ever have any discussions with Chief Manger about his
discussions with the Attorney DiBiase?
Mr. McFarland. No.
Mr. Griffith. Okay. My concern is, is that policy was
changed and that may or may not have been appropriate. That is
another issue which Chief Manger got a legal counsel, and I am
not--he is a good guy. I am not fussing at him.
My concern is, if we have done it for one, are we going to
do it for others? Has such an agreement been approved for any
rank and file officers? I would ask this of you, Ms. Gibson, do
you have any knowledge that this was approved for rank and file
officers?
I am not talking about a case where, as the rules says, you
can do it when you expect somebody to come back or you hope
they will come back, maybe they have got a slight disability,
or a medical issue and you are hoping they are coming back.
In this case, we had an employee who actually had taken
another job and left the region, had gone to the West Coast. Do
you know of any other cases where that has been done for rank
and file members of the United States Capitol Police?
[[Page 26]]
Ms. Gibson. I would say I do not have knowledge of when it
has been done, period, because, again, it is a personnel
management decision that the Board has not been involved in for
any of the officers.
Mr. Griffith. Have you ever taken those liberties with the
Senate under your--any of the folks under your situation in the
Senate?
Ms. Gibson. I do not have a similar program.
Mr. Griffith. Okay. I appreciate that. I see my time is up
and I yield back.
Chairwoman Klobuchar. Very good. Next up is Senator Welch,
who spent a lot of time with the House in the past and is now
back in his capacity as a Senator.
Senator Welch. Thank you very much. It really is good to be
here with my colleagues from the House. By the way, I do not
know who provided all those goodies out back, this is on the
down low, all right. But thank you to the House Administration
Committee.
[Laughter.]
Senator Welch. It is good to be here. I want to thank
Chairwoman Klobuchar and Chairman Steil for this hearing.
Number one, I just want to thank all of you for the work you
do, especially everybody who has been involved since January
6th.
I mean, obviously an incredibly traumatic event. I know
folks suffered more than our officers. It is just astonishing
because for a lot of the officers, the experience has not
lessened. I also just want to acknowledge that, as is always
the case after that happens, there have to be investigations.
There are different points of view about what and how it
happened, who should have done what. But bottom line, I think
you all have done a really good job, and I, just as a person
who serves here and benefited from the work that you all have
done, I want to express my gratitude to you. Thank you.
I do want to just go back, Chief Manger, to some of the
questions that Mr. Morelle was asking about mental health. I
mean, that is a tough topic. Officers are tough people, and
they do their job, and they have no expectation that they will
do anything less than what is required. But at the end of the
day, some of the experiences that our officers had were pretty,
pretty tough.
Also, I wonder whether at times when there has been so much
political discussion about what happened, who was at fault,
what does it mean, that diminishes the reality of what folks on
the front line did that day to protect us here.
Maybe you can just talk about morale and what we can do to
be supportive of the people who protected us and stood up and
did their duty.
Mr. Manger. Certainly January 6th had a devastating impact
on morale, and a lot of it was directed toward the officers
feeling that the Department, the leadership let them down.
Things as simple as just having the equipment that they
needed, they did not have. But as time went on, and I guess the
political discussion about January 6th did, in fact, impact my
officers as well, they felt like they were doing, you know, the
job they were paid to do. Acted very bravely and fought
courageously that day.
[[Page 27]]
Then you had folks, frankly no offense, on both sides of
the aisle, who were critical of--had their own agendas, you
know, to about what happened. Oftentimes, it certainly impacted
my officers to feel like they were being disrespected or not--
you know, that somehow they were at fault for what occurred.
I spent a lot of time ensuring that--making sure they knew
that the one thing that did not fail that day was the courage
of the men and women of this police department.
Senator Welch. Well, I am sure I speak for everybody up
here in saying we agree with that. Thank you. Ms. Gibson, the
Senate Rules and Homeland Security Joint Report recommended the
Board streamline its policies and procedures for--in the last
Congress, you took steps to address this, including
implementing an electronic approval process.
I just want you to comment on what steps the Board is
taking to make sure the Board is responsive to Department
requests and how that is going.
Ms. Gibson. Thank you, Senator. The electronic approvals
was a big one. Previously, requests from the Department were
hand walked around to various members of the Board for them to
sign things. We can now sign things electronically.
I have seen instances where, you know, within five minutes
every electronic signature is in. I would say also we do not
need to wait for a formal board meeting to field a request from
the Department or to make a decision.
There have been any number of occasions when a member of
the Board has raised an issue that they thought needed
immediate discussion, and we are able to convene a meeting
either virtually or in person to ensure that is discussed.
We are looking at other ways in which we might further
expedite and streamline. I think some of the recommendations to
remove some of the tactical decision-making from the Board are
good ones that would help to enhance our ability to really
focus on strategic things.
Senator Welch. Okay. Thank you very much. My time has
expired.
Mr. Steil. Thank you. Representative Torres is recognized.
Ms. Torres. Thank you, Chairman. Thank you, Senator Amy
Klobuchar, for being--for allowing us to come and join us--join
you today. Thank you for also working with me on the 9-1-1
Saves Act. As you know, 9-1-1 dispatchers, police dispatchers
across the country deserve to be recognized as the first
responders that they are.
Thank you for being my partner in doing that. Thank you to
our guests for being here today. Chief, thank you once again.
Last week, the Oversight Subcommittee on House Administration
held a hearing with Capitol Police Inspector General. During
that hearing, the Inspector General indicated that he had
closed out recommendations based on reforms undertaken in, and
I am going to quote, ``in the spirit of those
recommendations.''
Mr. McFarland, in general, is it common practice in
Government for IG recommendations to be closed based on agency
compliance with the spirit of the recommendations?
Mr. McFarland. Congresswoman Torres, as it relates to the
compensating control, it is not uncommon that this has happened
[[Page 28]]
before, including the predecessor to the current IG also did
the same measures.
Ms. Torres. Are you made aware when those recommendations
are made to be closed in the spirit, and do you typically agree
with them, or is there some discussion that happens?
Mr. McFarland. I think what--the good news is we were
unaware at first, when I first got here, of being here just
seven months, we were unaware that some things were being
closed out.
But once we found out that they were being closed out with
these compensating controls, we immediately took action to
actually remedy the situation by making sure that the Board is
now informed of, since May--I think it is May, that we will be
notified if any of these controls come forward. I am pleased to
announce that nothing has come forward that way since, but yes,
ma'am.
Ms. Torres. I am going to give you an example why this is
so important to me and why it gives me such heartburn when I
read recommendation 20.
On January 6th, I found myself, as well as other
colleagues, stranded on the balcony, 45 minutes, face down,
crawling from one side of the balcony to the other, without a
place to really hide with no, you know, with basic security. We
had one officer on our side. The officer, the one officer that
was present near Gallery 1 had--or Gallery 3, did not have keys
to a door that was wide open.
When the announcement was made to lockdown the Capitol and
that we were going to go on lockdown and to lay on the ground
and lay down quietly, that door remained wide open. Members of
Congress were yelling, you know, back and forth to the officer
to close the door.
He informed us that he had no keys. When I read the report
analysis that says that, you know, based on, I guess common
practice, there is a process to keep those doors or to have
somebody secure those doors or have access to keys, what is
that process? Because we certainly did not have that process on
January 6th.
I never want to find myself or any other Member of Congress
or visitor in that predicament where we were trapped without a
place to evacuate.
Mr. McFarland. Congresswoman Torres, I will let you know
that this predates me being here, but I can say that the
chamber itself now is more secure than it has been previous to
January 6th. We have also----
Ms. Torres. Well, that does not satisfy me. Come back to me
and tell me how--why this recommendation was closed and what
the process is. Chief, maybe you can come back and tell me how
officers were trained to find whomever the key master is.
I mean, at that time, and it is not your responsibility,
but the AOC was conveniently, you know, in another state while
the rest of us were trapped. I have exceeded my time, so I am
going to yield back. Please come back to my office with a
response.
Mr. McFarland. Yes, ma'am.
Mr. Steil. Thank you. Dr. Murphy is recognized for five
minutes.
Mr. Murphy. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you all for
coming today. You are in the inimitable position of being here
that you have to defend what was done before. Some of things
are indefen
[[Page 29]]
sible, but some of also the fact that you are going to say this
is what the plan is moving forward. Pipe bombs.
A couple of pipe bombs were planted outside the Republican
and Democratic Party National Headquarters. The individual
still remains at large, has eluded law enforcement, and FBI
Director Christopher Wray says it is ongoing but has not
provided us any details.
Chief Manger, I asked you about these pipe bombs in a
previous meeting. Let me ask you this, do you believe Members
of Congress were targets of the pipe bombs that were placed at
the Party headquarters?
Mr. Manger. Well, I think that certainly political parties
were a target. I mean, I think--and I am just----
Mr. Murphy. Just two years ago.
Mr. Manger. Yes, I am just----
Mr. Murphy. Two years ago. The rest of you guys, to the
other members of this Board, have you guys received any
updates, any updates at all about the ongoing investigation?
Mr. McFarland. No sir.
Mr. Murphy. Not a word, not a peep?
Ms. Gibson. I understand it is an ongoing FBI investigation
but have no additional information.
Mr. Murphy. When was the last time? Have you all asked for
an update?
Ms. Gibson. We meet regularly with the FBI on a recurring
basis. We can certainly ask about that the next time we meet.
Mr. Murphy. Well, I mean, I would imagine just you are
asking--and I mean, here we are, two years with no update. Just
seems a little bit odd with all the cameras and everything that
are going around here that there is no update.
You guys are responsible for protecting us, and I thank you
for doing it and for volunteering a job that I would not want
to do. I would love for you guys to commit to calling the FBI
and asking for an update on their investigation. We need to
know that they are actually doing their job.
Mr. Manger. I will, sir.
Mr. Murphy. I need that commitment from you guys. I truly
do, because we need to know, just in light of all the things
that happened and all the politics that occurred, we just need
to know that you need to know, that you are making sure that
you are covering our backs. I have great faith in you guys
compared to what was happening before, but I think we need to
know that publicly.
At the time, you know, decisions made by the police board--
again, everything in retrospect. You guys were not here. It was
very troubling that the police board prevented House
Republicans, but not House Democrats, from releasing January
6th footage. We did not get that until after we had gotten to
the Majority.
It reveals a horrible double standard, one of which we are
seeing more and more, and Americans are concerned more and more
about this country, about a double standard of justice that is
occurring. You cannot stick your head in the ground.
It is happening. Americans are very concerned about that.
That decisionmakers, at the time, especially, again, not in
your purview,
[[Page 30]]
were perceived as having more political rather than threat
based considerations.
I go back and looking through since we have been able to
look and see, what about the National Guard, what about this,
what about that, and according to a GAO report, approved by
both House and Senate leadership, we found that the House and
Senate Sergeant at Arms wasted valuable time seeking approval
from House and Senate leadership to bring in the National
Guard.
Cannot have that happen again. This was politics, it was
not security. You know, after January 6th, numerous security
decisions were dictated politically, politically, by the
Speaker of the House at that time to further a political
agenda.
What I need from you all are guarantees that you are going
to be an apolitical board, that decisions, regardless if it
were the head of the Senate, regardless of the Speaker of the
House, that if there is a security threat upon the Members of
Congress, that if you deem it to be a political one rather than
an actuarial threat, you will at least alert the Minority party
at the time, I do not care who it is, about the political
nature of the charge rather than the actuarial threat.
Ms. Gibson. Dr. Murphy, I can assure you that I am
committed to a nonpartisan approach in every security decision
that I make, and I demand the same of all my staff.
Mr. Murphy. Thank you. It was honestly an embarrassment on
our Nation because it was obviously done politically. What
happened on January 6th is beyond comprehension. What happened
was wrong, but there were obviously mitigating factors that
could have occurred which did not occur for political reasons.
With that, Mr. Chairman, thank you. I yield back.
Mr. Steil. The gentleman yields back. Ms. Bice is
recognized for five minutes.
Ms. Bice. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to thank the
Board for being with us this afternoon. I am grateful for the
work that you and your employees do to keep the Capitol complex
safe for Members, for staff, and certainly for visitors.
However, following up on Mr. Griffith's line of
questioning, I am concerned about the separation agreement with
former Acting Chief Pittman and how it was handled. It appears
she was given the ability to go on leave without pay status
with Capitol Police to attain the necessary 20 years of service
required for federal retirement benefits, while simultaneously
beginning a new lucrative job with UC Berkeley.
I want to start with this, General Gibson, you stated
earlier in your testimony that personnel issues for the United
States Capitol Police were under the purview of the Chief of
Police. However, Madam Chair, I ask unanimous consent to enter
into the record a page from the Police Board GAO report dated
February 2017, which lists roles and responsibilities for the
Capitol Police Board and the Chief of the United States Capitol
Police.
Under this, the human capital roles includes issuing
waivers to mandatory retirement provisions for Capitol Police
officers, as well as determining the leave system for Capitol
Police personnel. It does state, in fact, the Board establishes
the uniform policy. Madam Chair.
[[Page 31]]
Mr. Steil. Without objection.
[The information referred to was submitted for the record.]
Ms. Bice. Thank you. Mr. Chairman, my apologies. General
Gibson, the Capitol Police Board is required by statute to
implement a uniform policy, correct?
Ms. Gibson. Yes. Policy, but not the--we do not get
involved in the application of the policy to individuals within
the Department, unless it is a termination.
Ms. Bice. Do you believe that the policy for leave has been
applied uniformly in this particular situation?
Ms. Gibson. So, Ms. Bice, it would be difficult to say if
it is applied uniformly without understanding how it has been
applied across the Board. Ms. Pittman or former Chief Pittman's
separation is the only one I am aware of like that, because,
again, this is not a matter that the Board has been personally
involved in.
Ms. Bice. Mr. McFarland, if I could ask you, do you believe
that the--do you agree with the interpretation that the United
States Capitol Police have the unilateral authority to place
employees on leave without pay?
Mr. McFarland. Policies, yes. The Chief is responsible for
administrating the policy while the Board and the oversight
committees look at the regulations. So, yes.
Ms. Bice. Ms. Rexroat, and I know you--this is a little bit
of a foreign topic for you as you have only been acting for a
short time, but----
Ms. Rexroat. Yes, it would be hard for me to answer that
one without the full details. I do not have the full details,
so I apologize.
Ms. Bice. This is my concern. You know, we mentioned at the
beginning of this hearing that we have worked hard to improve
processes and sort of you know clarify issues, come together.
But on this particular topic, I think there is
disagreement. It is very clear that there is sort of this, we
are not quite sure. We think the Board can, but the Chief--I am
sorry, the Board has the ability, but the Chief can
unilaterally make these decisions. It does not seem like there
is real clarity on whether or not this policy has been put in
place uniformly across the Board.
I have concerns about that. I want to also talk about the
nondisclosure agreements, if I may, Chief. It has been widely
reported that at least one former United States Capitol Police
signed a non-disclosure agreement when he left.
Additionally, former Officer Pittman also signed a
separation agreement prohibiting her from sharing that
information. This Committee has actually asked for a copy of
that agreement, and we have been given a summary, but actually
not a copy of the agreement.
The reason given was that Ms. Pittman was prohibited from
doing so in the agreement. Would you be willing to offer this
agreement to this Committee to be able to review?
Mr. Manger. The summary has absolutely everything that is
included in the agreement.
Ms. Bice. Would you be willing to give us a copy of the
actual agreement that was signed by Ms. Pittman and yourself,
and legal counsel?
[[Page 32]]
Mr. Manger. I would have to check with my General Counsel
before I answer that.
Ms. Bice. Mr. Chair, my time is almost expired, so at this
time I yield back.
Mr. Steil. Gentlewoman yields back. Ms. Lee is recognized
for five minutes.
Ms. Lee. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to focus on
the subject of the Inspector General process. As we know, the
Inspector General reviews the processes and procedures of the
Capitol Police from time to time, makes recommendations on
areas where we might need to see improvement.
Then, of course, we track, and you all as a Board, track
implementation of that improvement. I would like to talk a
little bit more detail about how that happens and the status of
some of those improvements. Last week, we had Inspector General
Ron Russo testify in front of our Oversight Subcommittee in the
House Administration Committee, and he shared with us that some
of the Inspector General's recommendations had been designated
as closed, even though there had been some internal
modification to what exactly was changed, or improved, or
implemented.
We have heard and have been tracking closely in this
Committee the progress of those changes, implementation of the
Inspector General's recommendations, and of course our shared
interest in ensuring that we are equipping and implementing the
best practices that we can identify for our Capitol Police.
Inspector General Russo stated that some of these
recommendations may have been essentially marked and reported
as completed because they were moving in the right direction,
and they met the spirit of the recommendation. In essence, the
recommendation itself, the thing that needed to be fixed or was
recommended to be fixed had been altered in some way, but
nonetheless marked as closed.
While we certainly appreciate the Capitol Police's
Inspector General bringing this to our attention, we want to be
sure that we understand a little bit more about those
modifications and that process.
General Gibson, I would like to start with you. Are you
familiar with these Inspector General reports and the
recommendations in them?
Ms. Gibson. Yes, we are familiar with the IG's reports as
he publishes them and the recommendations. I would say the IG's
decision as to whether or not to close a recommendation, and
whether or not is because it was fully met or a compensatory
control has been applied, is his decision not the Board's
decision or the Chief's decision.
Ms. Lee. Where a modification of any type is made, is that
indicated, is that reported back to the Board as something that
was changed or modified?
Ms. Gibson. This is something that Mr. McFarland mentioned
previously, where we have recently become aware that Mr. Russo,
like his predecessor, has applied at times compensatory
controls.
Mr. Russo has made a commitment to keep us informed when
this occurs. We have quarterly updates at formal board meetings
with the IG, and that is an ideal forum for us to discuss that
and
[[Page 33]]
better understand his rationale, particularly in those places
where he has applied some kind of compensatory control in his
decision to close that.
Ms. Lee. Are you concerned--with his commitment to continue
to keep you all informed in mind, are you concerned about the
concept of compensatory controls and deviations from the actual
recommendations that are made by the Inspector General?
Ms. Gibson. I think the concept of compensatory controls is
not in itself disturbing. It is a practice that is applied by
other IGs at times. I am not yet concerned about the
compensatory controls that Mr. Russo may have applied in
making--in his decisions to close them, but certainly it is
something that we will want to continue to look like--look at
in our shared interest in that aspect of oversight.
Ms. Lee. As part of your oversight role, will you all be
making an assessment, an independent assessment essentially, of
whether you think any modification, any compensatory control is
still done in a way that truly does meet that objective, the
objective of the recommendation in the first place?
Ms. Gibson. It is a hypothetical, but certainly our IG
Working Group that is working closely to dig into the details
of those reports, I would expect them to bring that to our
attention, should they find such an instance.
Ms. Lee. All right. Chief Manger, anything that you would
add on this subject and how you view this from an operational
perspective?
Mr. Manger. We very carefully document our actions, the
IG's response to our actions, and it is logged in and it is
available to this Committee, to the Board, and it gives
specific detail about what actions we have taken.
If I want to--say for the record that we are not changing
the target--I mean, we are complying with the recommendation,
and it is solely the IG's decision whether to close it or not.
It is all documented.
Ms. Lee. All right. Thank you, Chief. Mr. Chairman, I yield
back.
Mr. Steil. The gentlewoman yields back. Mr. Loudermilk is
recognized for five minutes.
Mr. Loudermilk. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you all for
being here. General Gibson, I agree with something you said in
your opening statement. I do think the Board made a wise choice
in selecting Chief Manger. I think he was an excellent choice
and has done a lot to improve the security.
Something else you said, though, was, yes, I agree that the
Capitol is more secure than it was on January the 6th. The
question is, is it as secure as it needs to be? That is what my
subcommittee is trying to get to, to identify the failures of
January 6th, which unfortunately, the Select Committee did not
look at.
Identify those to make sure that they are corrected so the
general populace and the people that visit the Capitol can feel
that, yes, it is as secure as it needs to be. I am also--I am
going to ask some questions about January 6th, understanding
none of you were in your capacity or in your current job at
that time.
But as your capacity, in your current position that you can
answer those. There was a 2003 directive of the Metropolitan
Police
[[Page 34]]
that prohibits their officers from being on Capitol Hill
property without explicit approval from the Capitol Police
Board.
Ms. Gibson, in your position as Chair of the Board, I am
going to ask you this. Do you know, are there any preexisting
agreements between Capitol Police and Metropolitan Police that
allow them on campus without prior board approval?
Ms. Gibson. Well, there are memorandums of agreement
between the Department and the Metropolitan Police, and there
are instances in which they can come without the approval of
the Board, and specifically the legislation, which I
appreciate, from 2021 that allows the Chief to declare an
emergency and call for that kind of external support without
having to convene the Capitol Police Board for decision and
discussion.
Mr. Loudermilk. Thank you. Do you know, were there any
preexisting agreements in place on or before January 6th that
also allows that?
Ms. Gibson. Mr. Loudermilk, I will be honest, I am very
focused on improving the security of the Capitol today and
moving forward. Things that occurred well before my tenure are
not things that I have been focused on. I am afraid I do not
have that answer.
Mr. Loudermilk. Mr. McFarland, do you know if that was in
existent on January 6th, any previous agreements?
Mr. McFarland. Sorry, I do not know.
Mr. Loudermilk. Chief Manger?
Mr. Manger. I do not know either.
Mr. Loudermilk. Okay. If it is possible, if somebody could
look, that is very important for us. General Gibson, do you
know, has there ever been a time that undercover agents, either
Federal or local, operated on the United States Capitol complex
without Capitol Police Board approval or in compliance with
some other agreement?
Ms. Gibson. I am not aware of that occurring in my tenure
on the Capitol Police Board.
Mr. Loudermilk. Okay. Thank you. Chief Manger, I am not
going to ask any questions about separation agreements, so I
think that one is done for now. Who is Julie Farnam? Who is
Julie Farnam?
Mr. Manger. She was a former employee who was the Deputy
Director of our--or our supervisor in our intelligence section.
Mr. Loudermilk. Okay. She is no longer working in the
Department?
Mr. Manger. That is correct.
Mr. Loudermilk. When she was here, was she working on a
book while she was employed with the Capitol Police?
Mr. Manger. I know she has written a book. I do not know
when she--if she wrote it while she was here or after she left.
Mr. Loudermilk. When was her last day as a Capitol Police
employee?
Mr. Manger. I can get back to you with that. But it has
been a couple of months at least.
Mr. Loudermilk. If you will, I would appreciate that. Have
you ever seen a copy or a draft of the manuscript?
Mr. Manger. I know that two of my staff have reviewed the
book.
[[Page 35]]
Mr. Loudermilk. Okay. Mr. McFarland, have you ever seen a
copy or a draft of that?
Mr. McFarland. Yes, we have a copy for security review.
Mr. Loudermilk. Okay. Same, Ms. Gibson.
Ms. Gibson. Yes. My staff has also reviewed to make
security redactions of sensitive security information.
Mr. Loudermilk. Ms. Rexroat?
Ms. Rexroat. I have not----
Mr. Loudermilk. You have not. I am taking it that the
review was for security sensitivity. General Gibson, who is
Jennifer Hemingway?
Ms. Gibson. Jennifer Hemingway is the Chief of Staff of the
Senate Sergeant at Arms.
Mr. Loudermilk. What was her role on January 7, 2021?
Ms. Gibson. I believe at some point on that day, she
probably became the Acting Sergeant at Arms.
Mr. Loudermilk. Okay. Yes, she was. Are you aware that on
January 7th, as her role as Acting Senate Sergeant at Arms, she
called Ms. Pittman, Assistant Chief Pittman, and offered her
the role as Acting Chief of Police?
Ms. Gibson. I have no knowledge of anything that happened
on January 7th.
Mr. Loudermilk. Have you ever discussed that with her?
Ms. Gibson. No, I have not.
Mr. Loudermilk. Do you know if the Capitol Police have any
records of this communication?
Ms. Gibson. No, I have no records of anything on January
7th.
Mr. Loudermilk. Okay. Do you know if the Capitol Police has
any records of the hiring of Ms. Pittman or Chief Manger?
Ms. Gibson. Oh, I know we have copies of the hiring of
Chief Manger. I was intimately involved in that action.
Mr. Loudermilk. Okay. Unfortunately, I see I am out of
time, and I yield back. I will submit the rest of my questions
for the record.
Mr. Steil. The gentleman yields back. Mr. D'Esposito is
recognized for five minutes.
Mr. D'Esposito. Thank you, Chairman. I thank you all for
being here. I am going to start first, I am a proud retired New
York City detective, so I am going to start with the police
stuff first and talk like a cop.
Chief, I know that you mentioned in some of your remarks
the most serious issue that we are facing is staffing.
Obviously throughout this country, staffing in law enforcement
agencies is a problem, and it is a problem because cops are
treated so poorly, whether it is by Administrations, whether it
is by the people that they serve, whether it is so-called
leaders and elected officials.
What are you doing to make sure that we are getting the
best and the brightest here in the Capitol Police Force?
Mr. Manger. Our recruitment efforts through social media,
and I think it is the way we, for lack of a better term, the
way we market this position. This, as you know, is a different
kind of police department. It is a very unique police
department.
Our mission is unique around the country. There are--we are
appealing to folks who want to serve their country, who want to
work
[[Page 36]]
in Federal law enforcement, that do not necessarily want to be
transferred all over the country, like most other Federal law
enforcement agencies.
We have--this strategy has been very successful in terms of
attracting good quality folks.
Mr. D'Esposito. Okay. I am going to talk fast like a true
New Yorker, so, to try to get through this. You also mentioned
in your remarks leap pay, and you specifically mentioned leap
pay to DPD.
Now, why wouldn't we include all members of service in the
leap pay? I mean, just speaking as a cop and not as a Member of
Congress, I think that if we are going to implement programs
like that for members of service and some not others, I think
the morale would be destroyed in the Department.
Mr. Manger. We are just trying to mirror what the other
1811 series Special Agents have, and we are just trying to
mirror that for our folks.
Mr. D'Esposito. Okay.
Mr. Manger. We can certainly discuss expanding it.
Mr. D'Esposito. Okay. At the Inspector General oversight
hearing last week, Capitol Police Inspector General stated that
he supported the United States Capitol Police implementing
specific whistleblower protections. Ms. Rexroat, do you agree
that the United States Capitol Police should implement specific
whistleblower protections?
Ms. Rexroat. I am not sure about the Capitol Police, sir,
but I know that for whistleblower protection, just in general,
I would be an advocate of that.
Mr. D'Esposito. Okay. Mr. McFarland, do you agree?
Mr. McFarland. Yes, I agree.
Mr. D'Esposito. Ms. Gibson, do you agree?
Ms. Gibson. Absolutely. Whistleblowers must be protected
and cannot be retaliated against.
Mr. D'Esposito. Chief, since you appeared before our
Committee weeks ago, months ago, have you implemented specific
whistleblower protections?
Mr. Manger. There are regulations that prohibit
discrimination and harassment of employees that I think can be
used to ensure the protection of whistleblowers.
Mr. D'Esposito. Okay. Will you commit to expand on them by
the end of the year? It is one of the most serious issues that
we are talking about as a Committee. I think that what is
already in place needs to be expanded.
Mr. Manger. Whistleblowers should be protected. True
whistleblowers should be protected.
Mr. D'Esposito. Will you commit to work with us by the end
of the year to expand?
Mr. Manger. I can certainly work with the Committees on it,
absolutely.
Mr. D'Esposito. Ms. Gibson, why hasn't the Capitol Police
Board directed the United States Capitol Police to implement
specific whistleblower protections?
Ms. Gibson. The Capitol--I absolutely support whistleblower
protections. It is essential to ensuring there is an
environment in which an employee who might discover waste,
fraud, and abuse
[[Page 37]]
would feel free and safe and secure in bringing that to
someone's attention.
Certainly, the Board can--I think perhaps the best avenue
might be to ask the IG to look at the whistleblower protection
program and assess its adequacy.
Mr. D'Esposito. Okay. I look forward to working with the
Chairman and Ranking Member to get some answers on that. Ms.
Gibson, I also want to thank you for providing the Committee on
House Administration with a copy of the Board Manual of
Procedures.
Is it correct that this manual was not made available to
oversight entities until your arrival as the Senate Sergeant at
Arms?
Ms. Gibson. I believe that is correct, but I do not know
for sure what happened before I got here.
Mr. D'Esposito. It seems important that the men and women
in the rank and file of the United States Capitol Police have
access to these regulations as well. When will you make a copy
of the relevant sections of the manual available to all
personnel in the Capitol Police?
Ms. Gibson. That is certainly an important consideration.
What I would like to do is consult with my colleagues and our
oversight entities to develop a more fulsome response.
Mr. D'Esposito. I know I only have a few seconds left, but
back in the NYPD, we have something that is called a patrol
guide. Chief Manger, does the United States Capitol Police have
a policy in place in their guide that governs the use of social
media applications, or I should say communication applications
like WhatsApp, Signal, or other messaging apps?
Mr. Manger. We have a social media policy.
Mr. D'Esposito. Okay. Are messaging apps involved in there?
Mr. Manger. I know that they are mentioned. I cannot tell
you more specific----
Mr. D'Esposito. Do you know that these, or are you aware
that these applications are currently in use by the United
States Capitol Police?
Mr. Manger. It would not surprise me.
Mr. D'Esposito. Okay. Have you ever used WhatsApp in your
official capacity?
Mr. Manger. I have not.
Mr. D'Esposito. Okay. Just--my time has expired. I yield
back.
Chairwoman Klobuchar. Next up, Senator Cruz.
Senator Cruz. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you to each of
you for being here. Thank you for the service each of you
provides. I want to take a minute in particular, Chief, to
thank the men and women of the Capitol Police.
In Texas and all across the country, I view a big part of
my job as supporting the men and women of law enforcement. I am
grateful for the courage of the men and women of the Capitol
Police and police officers all across our Nation who risk their
lives to keep--keep Americans safe.
I want to ask you, Chief, first of all, about your
assessment of the current morale in the Capitol Police and the
state of readiness of the Capitol Police to protect against the
threats we are facing.
[[Page 38]]
Mr. Manger. I think morale is always in the eye of the
beholder. I think it has improved since January 6th. There are
still--we are still at a point staffing wise where we are
holding people over. We are canceling days off. This is a--has
a big impact on morale.
We have a ways to go. But I think that the cops understand
that things are better than they were, and they are improving.
I assure you that our state of readiness is good.
There is still work to be done, but I have great confidence
in the men and women of this Department that they have the
training, the courage, the equipment, and we, as in leadership,
have good plans in place to ensure the safety of this campus.
Senator Cruz. Well, I will tell you one concern that I
have, and it is a growing concern, which is the rise of threats
that are directed against lawmakers, and lawmakers of both
parties. We have seen an explosion of threats of violence
against Members of both parties.
According to CBS News, Capitol Police investigated 7,500
cases of potential threats against lawmakers in 2022 alone.
That is nearly double what the number of threats were in 2017.
We have also seen multiple instances, whether it was the
horrific shooting at the congressional baseball game where you
had a deranged lunatic who came with the explicit objective of
murdering Republican Members of Congress.
It is only because of Steve Scalise's Capitol Police detail
that happened to be there, that that deranged lunatic was
stopped and killed. Had Congressman Scalise been late that
morning, had he decided to take his kids to school that morning
instead of going to the congressional baseball practice--there
was no one else there that had a detail.
Had Steve Scalise not been there that morning, the outcome
of that morning likely would have been two dead Senators and a
dozen or more dead House Members shot defensively in a bullpen
in Northern Virginia. We have seen instances escalating from
there, including, we had a Member of Congress attacked in the
elevator of her apartment building.
We had tragically a Senate staffer repeatedly stabbed in
broad daylight here in Washington, DC, just a couple of blocks
from this hearing room. I am very concerned with this rising
level of threats, and I fear we are going to wake up one day
and somebody is going to be killed. On either side of the
aisle, the number of lunatics who are seeking to do harm is
growing.
I want to ask you, what is your view of what needs to be
done to prevent that? To ensure that we can protect the safety
of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle in both houses from the
growing and serious threats of violence, and specific violence
targeting individual Members.
Mr. Manger. The first step is for our intelligence bureau,
which has been greatly expanded, to continue to be proactive in
scrubbing social media to try and locate these threats. Many of
these threats, and you know this Senator, come back, we
actually get them from the staffs of the Members.
But we also are able to pick some of these up early so that
we can mitigate them as quickly as possible. You know, in my
budget, I have requested additional investigative agents
because of the
[[Page 39]]
caseload. Five hundred cases per year, per investigator, which
is just unmanageable, and we need to do better than that.
We also are working with state and local police departments
all around the country to assist us in ensuring protection for
Members at events when they are in their home districts. But we
have got to continue to--and I know we are short on time. We
need to do a better job at protecting Members when they are
home, their families, and----
Senator Cruz. Obviously, we have the tragic attack of Nancy
Pelosi's husband at home and all of our families are at risk.
Mr. Manger. We had a Congressman whose staff was attacked
by a baseball bat wielding man just a couple of months ago. We
have got to make sure that we have got security measures in
place in home district offices, in homes, so that it raises
everybody's level of scrutiny.
Senator Cruz. I am working in a bipartisan way with
Chairwoman Klobuchar, who is very concerned about this issue as
well. We are working on a Member Protection Act that would help
enhance resources available to keep Members and our families
safe.
I hope with each of you here that you will work with us to
try to address this problem so that we can address it
proactively on the front end, rather than being confronted with
tragedy on the back end.
Mr. Manger. We are committed to do that, sir.
Senator Cruz. Thank you.
Mr. Steil. For purposes--does gentlemen seek recognition?
Mr. Loudermilk. Mr. Chairman, I seek unanimous consent to
submit for the record a bulletin from the Capitol Police Board
dated January 8, 2021, appointing Ms. Yogananda Pittman as
Acting Chief of Police signed by Ms. Jennifer Hemmingway,
Acting Chairman of the Police Board, Paul Irving, member of the
Police Board, and Brent Brannon, member of the Capitol Police
Board.
Mr. Steil. Without objection.
[The information referred to was submitted for the record.]
Mr. Loudermilk. I also request unanimous consent to submit
for the record the testimony of Paul Irving, dated February 23,
2021, to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and
Government Affairs, where he testified that he resigned his
position effective January 7th. He resigned as House Sergeant
at Arms effective January 7, 2021, a day before he signed the
appointment of Ms. Yogananda Pittman.
Mr. Steil. Without objection.
[The information referred to was submitted for the record.]
Mr. Loudermilk. Thank you, I yield back.
Mr. Steil. For their own purposes, does the Ranking Member
seek recognition?
Mr. Morelle. Yes, thank you. Mr. Chair, I would like to ask
unanimous consent to enter into the record the following
transcribed interview transcripts from the January 6th House
Select Committee. Two transcripts of former House Sergeant at
Arms, the Commanding General of the DC National Guard, General
William Walker's interviews with Select Committee dated
December 13, 2021, and April 21, 2022, respectively. The
transcript of Acting As
[[Page 40]]
sistant Chief of the Capitol Police Sean Gallagher's interview
with the Select Committee dated January 11, 2022.
A transcript of former Acting Police Chief Pittman's
interview with the Select Committee dated January 13, 2022.
Transcript of former House Sergeant at Arms, Paul Irving's
interview with the Select Committee, dated March 4, 2022.
The transcript of former Police Chief Steven Sund's
interview with the Select Committee, dated April 20, 2022. I
also ask unanimous consent to enter into the record Appendix
two of the final report of the January 6th House Select
Committee entitled, DC National Guard preparation for and
response to January 6th. I ask unanimous consent to insert into
the record the following news articles.
An article from the Associated Press, dated July 23, 2021,
entitled, Pelosi Did Not Block the National Guard from the
Capitol on January 6th. An article on the Washington Post,
dated July 28, 2021, entitled, The False GOP Claim that Pelosi
Turned Down the National Guard before January 6th Attack. An
article in the New York Times, dated July 27, 2021, entitled,
Republicans Are Blaming Nancy Pelosi for the January 6th
Attack, Their Claims Don't Add Up.
Finally, an article from CNN dated July 21st, 2021,
entitled, Fact Checking Representative Jordan's Claim That
Speaker Pelosi Was Responsible United States Capitol Security
and January 6th.
Mr. Steil. Without objection.
[The information referred to was submitted for the record.]
Mr. Steil. As we wrap up, I just want to say thank you to
our witnesses. Thank you for what you do to keep the Capitol
safe, the visitors of the Capitol safe, and those that work
here safe. It is not an easy task.
Thank you for those of you who you work with, in particular
the men and women of the Capitol Police, who every day wake up
with a badge over their heart and walk out the door, knowing
they are going to answer the call to protect this institution,
to protect our visitors and those that work here.
We thank them for their service, and we thank you all for
being here in a bicameral, bipartisan conversation about
protecting this institution.
Chairwoman Klobuchar. All right. Well, thank you very much,
Chairman Steil. To also Senator Fischer and, of course, Ranking
Member Morelle. This has been a thorough hearing and pretty
good for the first one since 1945. That was a little
intimidating on its own. I want to thank our witnesses. I want
to thank all of you for the work you do to adapt and modernize
to address our current and future challenges.
I want to thank you, Chief Manger, for all you have done in
recruiting and retaining officers and responding to so many
Members' concerns on a daily basis, and always, far as I can
see, keeping your cool. The hearing record will remain open for
one week. Again, we all thank our Capitol Police, and this has
been a productive hearing. Thank you. We are adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 5:52 p.m., the hearing was adjourned.]
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