U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) on March 25 offered a bipartisan bill that would prohibit federal funding for permanent fencing around the U.S. Capitol complex in Washington, D.C.
“There are clearly steps that need to be taken to strengthen security around the Capitol complex, but permanent fencing should not be a part of that response,” Sen. Blunt said last week. “The message that would send to the American people, and to the world, is that the character of our democracy is fragile enough to be permanently altered.”
Sen. Blunt sponsored the No Fencing at the United States Capitol Complex Act, S. 1030, with lead original cosponsor U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD).
The senator noted that as Americans near the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, he hopes all of his colleagues “will join us in making sure there is no fencing standing in the way.”
S. 1030 has been referred for consideration to the U.S. Senate Rules and Administration Committee, on which Sen. Blunt serves as the ranking member.
As the most iconic symbol of democracy in the world, Sen. Blunt said that how America responds to the Jan. 6 attack “will send a clear message to everyone watching.”
“I have said before and I will say again: we should not forget the January 6th attack because we cannot let it be repeated,” Sen. Blunt said. “But we also cannot let it change who we are as a nation; a nation that has always been defined by a government that is accessible and accountable to the people we serve.”