WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, released the following statement on the third anniversary of the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol:
“Three years ago, our democracy was attacked by insurrectionists attempting to overturn the results of a free and fair election – the will of the people. This was one of our nation’s darkest days, and we should all be eternally grateful to the Capitol Police, DC Metropolitan Police, and other first responders for bravely standing up against this violent and horrific assault. Though Congress has taken action to prevent an attack like this from happening in the future, our democracy and our nation still face this existential threat.
“We must stay vigilant against efforts to undermine our most treasured democratic processes, especially as we have seen rising threats against state legislatures, election workers and other officials that are only expected to grow as we enter an election year. Each of us has a solemn duty to call out bad-faith attacks and to uphold the trust in our democratic institutions.
“Three years after this failed attempt to undermine the will of the American people, we must remember that we cannot take our democracy for granted and that we must work together to ensure our nation’s most important ideals prevail.”
As Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Peters held hearings on the January 6th attack along with the Senate Rules Committee, and led the Senate’s first bipartisan investigation and released a joint bipartisan report on the security, planning, and response failures related to January 6th attack. Many of the recommendations from the report to better secure the Capitol have already been implemented. Peters also led an investigation and released a report examining intelligence failures by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A) in the lead-up to the attack on the U.S. Capitol. Peters also helped pass into law reforms to the Electoral Count Act. The reforms will ensure that electoral votes tallied by Congress accurately reflect each state’s public vote for President. Peters has also led efforts to address the broader national security threat posed by domestic terrorism. He released a report showing that the federal government is not adequately addressing the domestic terrorism threat and that social media companies’ current business models contribute to the spread of extremist content.
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