Twelve Republican representatives on Wednesday voted against a bill to award medals to the U.S. Capitol Police and others following the Jan. 6 riots, largely due to language in the legislation that likened the participants to “a mob of insurrectionists.”
The House voted 413-12 in favor of the bill, dubbed H.R. 1085, which would award Congressional Gold Medals, the highest honor bestowed by the government body, to the Capitol Police, U.S. Metropolitan Police Department, and the Smithsonian for display purposes. The legislation added that “a mob of insurrectionists forced its way into the U.S. Capitol building,” and it likened the building to “the temple of our American Democracy.”
“It could have implications for somebody’s prosecution later if we give weight to the word ‘insurrection,'” said Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, one of the 12 GOP lawmakers who voted against the bill. “Also calling this a ‘temple’ is a little too sacrilegious for me. This is not a religion here. This is a government. We separate our religion from our government.”
Similarly, Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz slammed the bill for “editorial comments about the Jan. 6 sequence of events.”
FORMER TRUMP PENTAGON CHIEF SAYS CAPITOL RIOT WOULDN’T HAVE HAPPENED WITHOUT HIS SPEECH AT RALLY
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who introduced the bill in February, said she felt “honored” to sponsor the legislation, a rarity for House leaders.
“I feel very honored to be sponsoring this legislation,” the California Democrat said on the House floor. “The speaker rarely sponsors legislation — certainly cosponsors hardly ever. Today, united in grief and gratitude, the House is honoring these heroes as we pass legislation to bestow upon them the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest honor this Congress can give. The service of our men and women in uniform from the Capitol Police force and other services that day brings honor to our democracy, and their accepting this medal will bring luster to this award.”
Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert said he opposed the bill because it mentioned “armed insurrectionists,” although the legislation itself made no mention of “armed” rioters.
“I was concerned about language preceding the honoring of the Capitol Police because some of it was neither true nor accurate, including saying we had an armed insurrection,” Gohmert said. “Because we found out, no one that came in the Capitol was armed. So rather than having false information being voted for, I preferred to have a build that honored the Capitol Police without having false statements in it. That’s why I took that out and honored the police.”
The GOP representative has introduced his own bill with amended language that does not mention the Jan. 6 date or the Capitol siege. It is also devoid of phrases that were previously contested by his Republican colleagues.
Scoop: Rep. Louie Gohmert is circulating a competing bill to award congressional gold medals to the Capitol Police.
But his bill doesn’t mention Jan. 6. or the Capitol attack. Instead, it says “we mourn the losses” of Brian Sicknick & Jeffrey Smith, who “passed in January 2021.” pic.twitter.com/eHuQ0xBsqH
— Melanie Zanona (@MZanona) March 17, 2021
Some Democrats, like House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, slammed the 12 GOP no votes posing the legislation and creating a rival bill. They accused the 12 Republicans of effectively trying to memory-hole the events of Jan. 6, which they said were caused by supporters of former President Donald Trump in a bid to overturn a free and fair election.
“It is deeply unfortunate that a number of House Republicans opposed this action as they attempt to erase the events of January 6 and deny the responsibility of a far-right, insurrectionist mob incited by former President Trump,” Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat, said in a statement.
“The alternative resolution they have proposed insults the memory of the officer who was killed defending the Capitol and the two others who died as a result of the attack in its immediate aftermath, using language implying that the three officers did not lose their lives in the line of duty,” Hoyer said. “Such disrespect for the heroes who courageously tried to protect the American people’s Capitol is disgusting.”
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The bill cleared the House, and a similar provision, which seeks to award Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman, who led rioters away from the packed Senate chamber during Jan. 6, with a Congressional Gold Medal passed the Senate. However, in order for these bills to pass, the legislation must match in both the House and Senate.
Pelosi’s bill also seeks to recognize “the sacrifice” of Goodman and Officer Brian Sicknick, who died shortly after the riot. It was initially believed that Sicknick was killed after being struck by a fire extinguisher, but authorities have refused to release the cause of death after the veteran policeman was laid to rest in the Capitol Rotunda.
