Amy Klobuchar

We should make that the law of the land.

We will march on and we will fight this we will do everything we can to take on these discriminatory voting laws, whether it's in court, whether it's at the state capitals, and whether it is continuing to get work done in Congress.

It is much needed right now with all of the voter suppression laws that are being passed across the country that will greatly hurt voters, and make it harder for them to vote.

Some people don't want some people to vote.

I think if you talk to Marc Elias, I’m sure you have, he will tell you and he has said very publicly that with this concerted effort across the country to suppress the vote, that litigation is not enough.

That’s what we’re trying to do here. It is about guaranteeing the right to vote regardless of what state you live in.

Does it really seem like the dreamers of our Constitution envision the system where a minority of senators can stand in the way of legislation and stop it altogether, stop the vote, stop the consideration, throw a wrench into a process…

Our message is there will be consequences if he chooses to violate the sanctity of this democracy.

What is radical, is people who are undermining our democracy. That is what it is radical. And it is on us to write it.

The horrendous issue of messing around with how the votes are counted and getting rid of the non-partisan boards and allowing partisan legislatures to count and sham audits. All of that is covered by our bill. And it is a big problem.

I want to recognize the heroic efforts of our staff, many of whom are here with us today; of our law enforcement who, in the face of overwhelming numbers and an unprecedented violent assault, valiantly placed their lives on the line for…

This was not just about, you know, bread and butter doing your job, this was actually about saving our Republic.

I think that on January 6th last year, they did not have the support that they needed, whether it is the equipment, whether it was a plan, whether it was a direction on that day, and yet they still valiantly did their job.

As I noted, Senator Blunt's and my legislation, which importantly was co-sponsored by many Members of this Committee, gave you, and in general the Capitol Police Chief, authority to request assistance from the National Guard in an…

Thank you very much. I just have one or two more questions here, and then we will let you go back to your work, Chief.

Many people in this very room, Committee Members have experienced them, over 9,000 threats in 2021 alone.

This legislation, the Capitol Police Emergency Assistance Act of 2021, provides the Capitol Police Chief with unilateral authority to request emergency assistance from the National Guard and other Federal law enforcement agencies in…

Out of that came a bipartisan report that Senator Blunt and Senator Peters and Portman and I authored with findings and 20 recommendations for agencies across the Federal Government to be implemented without delay.

Tomorrow marks one year since a violent mob staged an insurrection in an attempt to disrupt the peaceful transition of power.

It is our job to honor their service by doing our part to ensure that they are never faced with the circumstances they were faced with that day.

It is crucial as ever, in addition to that, that we pass legislation to protect the freedom to vote in the Senate.

Democracy prevailed.

We owe it to the Capitol Police officers who defend the Capitol every day to make sure that they have the resources and support they need to do their jobs.

We want to ensure the Capitol Police have the resources necessary to protect both the Congress and the agency's most valuable asset, the officers themselves.

The changes made since January 6th, of course, started at the top.