For Immediate Release:
May 27, 2021

Not Above the Law Coalition Ahead of Jan. 6 Commission Vote: “Stand on the Right Side of History”

WASHINGTON, D.C. Today, members of the bipartisan “Not Above the Law” coalition released the following joint statement ahead of the Senate’s scheduled vote on H.R. 3233, a bill that would create a bipartisan 9/11-style commission to investigate the violent January 6 attack on the Capitol:

“The violent insurrection at the Capitol was an attack on the very bedrock of American democracy. Learning how this horrific attack materialized will be essential to identifying the steps we must take to ensure that never again will there be an attack on the peaceful transfer of power in this country. Preventing another January 6—or worse—requires that the public and lawmakers are equipped with a truthful, complete, and shared understanding of what happened and why.

“House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson and Ranking Member John Katko negotiated this bill in good faith, compromised, and arrived at bipartisan legislation modeled on the vital 9/11 commission. We call on the Senate to show the same good faith to the 140 injured Capitol Police officers, the families of those who died, the dedicated staff who work at the Capitol every day, and the millions of Americans who watched in horror as the Capitol Complex was breached for the first time since the War of 1812, and send this legislation to the President for his signature. 

“We urge the Senate to stand on the right side of history and vote for this bipartisan commission and appoint members who will conduct a thorough investigation into what occurred on January 6, and in the weeks and months leading to it, and make informed recommendations about how we can prevent it from happening again. The security of our democracy demands it.”

Coalition members supporting this statement include: Democracy 21, Protect Democracy, American Oversight, Constitutional Accountability Center, Sierra Club, Open The Government, DemCast USA, Equal Justice Society, Demand Progress, Project On Government Oversight (POGO), Women’s March, The Digital Democracy Project, Stand Up America, People For the American Way, No Dem Left Behind, Common Cause, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), Government Accountability Project, Greenpeace USA, Mainers for Accountable Leadership, Center for Popular Democracy, Center for American Progress Action Fund, and Public Citizen.

Contact: Katie Parrish
Email:
[email protected]

###