Congress defies its own law, fails to install plaque honoring Jan. 6 police officers

In a Congress stuck in gridlock, lawmakers have become accustomed to the slow pace of their work on Capitol Hill. But Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a California Democrat who has represented a Northern California Bay Area district since 1995, is furious about one particular delay.

“My letters haven’t been answered. And that’s a mystery to me,” Lofgren said, throwing up his hands in frustration as he spoke to CBS News near the U.S. House floor a few days ago.

Lofgren and a group of other top House Democrats are questioning why a small plaque to honor cops who saved the Capitol – and the lawmakers and staff who worked there – in January 6, 2021 was not completed or installed by the March 2023 deadline required by law.

In a letter sent this month to House Speaker Mike Johnson and obtained by CBS News, Lofgren wrote: “I am deeply concerned about the delay in installing the sign, which was required by law to be placed on the west side of the Capitol building. “

A expense account approved and signed into law in March 2023 required the creation of a plaque listing the names of officers who served on January 6 and required it be placed on the west front of the Capitol, the site of some of the most violent attacks. attacks against officers.

A CBS News analysis of the dispute over the plaque — and the delay in its completion — yielded unclear responses from House leadership and revealed concerns that the honorary plaque is mired in toxic substances. 2024 politics and was a victim of the fight for election denialism that emerged after President Biden won the 2020 presidential election.

Lofgren, who served in the House Select January 6 select committee who investigated the attack and former President Trump’s efforts to overturn that election, said the plaque is an important honor for the officials. “The police officers were brutally attacked. However, the plaque has not yet been completed,” she said. “It’s wrong. Not following the law is also disrespectful to the police officers who saved our lives.”

Page 130 of legislation says the board required several congressional committees to compile a list of names of all officials who responded to the Jan. 6 violence, including the House and Senate Appropriations Committees and the House Administration Committee.

Democrats on the House and Senate committees told CBS News they have completed their work on drawing up the list of officers’ names. A House aide said, “Democrats have fulfilled all of our obligations and the installation of the sign is long overdue.”

But Republicans on a House appropriations subcommittee refused to answer questions about its progress and instead referred CBS News to the House speaker’s office.

A spokesperson for House Speaker Mike Johnson did not respond to questions about the progress of work on the sign or offer an explanation for the delay. Instead, the spokesperson issued a statement to CBS News that said, “The House Speaker’s office is working with the (Architect of the Capitol) to assemble the sign.”

The delay angered some of the police officers who responded on January 6 and have since criticized Trump and his allies for denying the results of the 2020 election.

Retired Capitol Police sergeant. Aqulino Gonell told CBS News: “The sign must be installed immediately. And the Capitol Police Board must make it accessible so the American people can understand the danger we face and the magnitude of our sacrifices to protect our leaders. “

“I protected elected officials regardless of party affiliation, including those who sided with protesters by calling them hostages,” Gonell continued.

Earlier this month, Congress appointed a new architect of the Capitol, who will oversee the Capitol grounds and the hundreds of landmarks and historic pieces on site.

Top Democrats have increased their criticism of Johnson over the sign. Rep. Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat who chaired the House select committee on Jan. 6, told CBS News: “The speaker of the House has to do this. that he defended this institution.”

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries also recently criticized the delay.

The board proposal was presented at a House appropriations hearing in June 2021. Republican Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington urged colleagues to support the sign.

“We must never forget their courage,” she said of the officers and the sign during the hearing.

“Establishing a plaque,” ​​she continued, “will be a strong and permanent reminder of the sacrifice those officers made that day.”

Herrera Beutler was one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump after the Jan. 6 attack. She was defeated in the 2022 Republican primary election, with Trump supporting her primary opponent.

In Lofgren’s May 6 letter to Johnson, she urged the House “to take immediate action to address this oversight and ensure that the sign is promptly installed in accordance with the law.”

If there is a reason for the delay, I look forward to any information you can share to that end and what is being done to address this,” she wrote.

No one responded from the speaker’s office.