Washington’s sole congressional delegate, Eleanor Holmes Norton, introduced legislation designed to stave off permanent fencing around the Capitol complex.
The Washington, D.C., Democrat introduced the No Fencing at the United States Capitol Complex Act on Thursday. Norton said while introducing her bill she hoped to improve security at the Capitol after the Jan. 6 siege but wants to do so without an “archaic security strategy that humans invented over 10,000 years ago,” according to WUSA9.
The Capitol is currently surrounded by some 3 miles worth of fencing, including razor wire, that went up in the days following the riot. The fencing has rekindled a debate in Congress over Capitol security. Acting U.S. Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman has called for permanent fencing, but Norton said doing so would send the wrong message.
“Permanent fencing would send an un-American message to the nation and the world, by transforming our democracy from one that is accessible and of the people to one that is exclusive and fearful of its own citizens,” Norton said. “Already, the distance between government and the people has grown, with trust in government at historic lows.”
“We should not entrench that distance further by placing intimidating barriers between ourselves as public servants and the people we serve, especially when such barriers are neither effective nor necessary,” she added.
Norton is proposing “smarter, state-of-the-art solutions” to the security situation on Capitol Hill but did not offer specific details or examples of what solutions could be more effective than the current fencing. She also appeared to place some of the blame at the feet of those in charge of security on Jan. 6.
“The failure of Capitol security leaders to plan for the predictable and openly announced attack on the Capitol does not justify closing the complex from the public, to whom it belongs,” Norton said.
District Mayor Muriel Bowser has also pushed back against those calling for permanent fencing. She said the city would “not accept” extra fencing as a long-term solution.
“When the time is right, the fencing around the White House and U.S. Capitol, just like the plywood we’ve seen on our businesses for too long, will be taken down,” the mayor said last month.
