Notes From Congress

September 2004

Unsafe Security. Three years after 9/11, official actions taken at the Capitol following the orange alert have exposed serious issues with federal security. There is no coordinated plan among the four independent sectors that control the security of the nation’s capital—congressional, White House, and federal government officials, and the D.C. Police. The absence of such coordination encourages each jurisdiction “to do its own thing,” violating the most elementary rules of security. With no federal coordination, it’s no wonder there were inexplicable differences between responses to the orange alert. Without consultation with the District., Capitol Police initiated checkpoints of every vehicle and closed First Street, N.E., the only direct route in that area to Union Station, the city’s major transportation hub. In contrast, after consultation, White House and federal agency officials did none of that, but took more measured and calculated action near the White House and Treasury Department, although they are considerably closer to the IMF and World Bank, where security issues are centered.

I asked the congressional security officials responsible for the actions at the Capitol to meet with me and D.C. officials, and at our first meeting requested that they develop a citywide security plan and also that they meet on a monthly basis. They have agreed. Subsequently, House Administration Committee Chair Bob Ney, who has oversight jurisdiction, phoned me and independently said he believed a citywide plan was necessary. Chairman Ney is getting expert staff to assist.

The First Street closing is particularly inexcusable. To protect the Russell and Dirksen buildings, Senate Sergeant at Arms Bill Pickle and Capitol Police Chief Terry Gainer have resorted to a last resort measure—shutdown. We have suggested a combination of alternatives, which together can protect the area.

The checkpoints are to keep larger vehicles carrying explosives away from the Capitol. Yet, cars of every size are being stopped. Even the low August traffic is causing drivers to circumvent the checkpoints, bringing buses and cars onto Capitol Hill residential streets and causing serious back-ups on the SE-SW Freeway and downtown.

In September, Congress, thousands of congressional staff, federal and private-sector employees will return as school traffic begins. There will be a flood of vehicles that cannot avoid the Capitol while others create traffic standstill downtown. To keep this city moving for Congress and everyone else, adjustments must be made.

This is no way to protect a big crowded city. Take a look at New York, which has been on permanent orange alert since 9/11. No major street has been closed. There are no checkpoints in the city.

Capitol Police are using nineteenth century roadblocks and checkpoints to meet twenty-first century risks. Technology is unexplored and unused. The truck interdiction program that can stop suspicious vehicles miles before they enter a secured zone, for example, is not in place. Even without technology, the absence of an analytical approach to protecting the Capitol is painfully evident.

It is also clear that in September, checkpoints and street closings would bring traffic chaos and palpable danger overwhelming the risks they are supposed to avoid. Meetings here in the Capitol have yielded some progress. However, if the city is to function after Labor Day for the Senate, the House and the people who live and work here, more must be done.

Fit for a Judge. The House has passed my bill to name the new annex to the federal courthouse building for Senior Judge William Bryant, the first African American chief judge of the U.S. District Court here and D.C.’s first black U.S. attorney.

Judge Bryant is a judge of historic dimensions. He was recognized as one of the city’s best lawyers in the 40s and 50s, when blacks were denied admission to the D.C. Bar Association and could not use the Bar law library. Yet, he argued Mallory v. United States, 354 U.S. 449 (1957), the landmark case that requires that an accused person be promptly brought before a judge.

The idea to name the annex for Judge Bryant was the recommendation of the judges of his court, unbeknownst to the Judge. He is still sitting at 92. I am trying to get the Senate to act promptly.

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