I’ve been watching with shock and disbelief as our esteemed Senators fight over a bill that would create a bipartisan commission to investigate the January 6 attack on America’s Capitol.
The position against the commission seems to be that it is unnecessary, that the insurrection was just a matter of tourists gone wild. Never mind that people were injured and died, that Senators had to flee to safety and staff had to barricade themselves in offices, fearing for their lives from protesters bearing guns and clubs.
I was discussing this commission with my colleague Trisha Dello Iacono, who manages our legislative policy and is in charge of our visits to Capitol Hill. We have walked with our Moms Clean Air Force volunteers through the Capitol’s distinguished — and intimidating! — hallways for years. We follow the rules. We’ve been scrutinized by security, checked and stopped over such things as milk bottles for our babies, accompanied by motorcades when we marched for climate action.
But we have always felt safe. We have always felt that the security protected us. We have always felt we could do our work — as concerned citizens.
January 6 saw a massive, disgraceful, and terrifying breach in security and lives were lost because of it. If we do not understand how and why that happened, we cannot understand what must be done to ensure our safety. We cannot hold accountable those people who literally tried to destroy the house of democracy. That means that we cannot feel safe doing the work of citizens — letting our legislators know what we hold dear, what we want them to accomplish on our behalf. Moms can no longer safely advocate for our children in the halls of Congress.
There is no possible good reason for refusing to create a bipartisan January 6 commission to investigate the massive breach of security. People around the world watched it unfold, in shock and horror. What will the world think when our Senators refuse to investigate what actually happened that day?
Please join me in telling your Senators to support this bill. Right now, it has some bipartisan support, but leadership is trying to undermine that. That support will stay strong if your Senators know that you care. As a mom and a constituent, it is important that you feel safe entering the Capitol.
Democracy is only as good as we make it. We must feel safe when we participate in our democracy, as mothers, as citizens. We will only feel secure — fighting for clean air and climate safety — when we know where danger lies. We demand answers.