Roy Blunt, bring your record of bipartisanship to bolster a Jan. 6 attack commission

By Tom Coleman and Russ Carnahan
Special to the Star, The Kansas City Star

It’s been more than 120 days since the United States Capitol — the symbol of our democracy — was invaded by a violent mob that attempted to interfere with the peaceful transfer of power.

The insurrection left five people dead — including a Capitol Police officer — and more than 140 other officers injured. This ugly episode in our nation’s history was carried live by the media to audiences around the world.

The attack clearly demands a response. To that end, last week, the House of Representatives passed a bill introduced by Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson and GOP Rep. John Katko titled the National Commission to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol Complex Act. It has been called the most significant bipartisan legislation of this Congress, gaining the support of 35 Republicans in the House. The bill would create an independent, bipartisan commission to uncover the causes of the attack on the Capitol and identify steps Congress can take to protect the peaceful transfer of power in the future.

Some members of Congress and state elected officials continue to dispute the facts about what transpired on Jan 6. At a recent hearing held by the House Oversight and Reform Committee, several Republican members claimed the riot was more like a group of sightseeing “tourists” occupying the Capitol, while others reached for a political conspiracy that it was really a left-wing group trying to embarrass Donald Trump.

At a moment of such extreme partisanship, the co-sponsors of this bill have strategically sought to lower the temperature. Building on the nearly-completed bipartisan oversight investigation into security failures that day, the Jan. 6 commission would allow a dispassionate examination of what happened, why it happened and what Congress can do to keep it from happening again.

The current oversight committee hearings being conducted in the House and Senate are approaching the matter as if it were congressional business as usual. It is not, and must not be considered business as usual. Under the unique circumstances of the insurrection, congressional hearings are insufficient to get to the heart of what happened on Jan. 6.

That is because members of the House and Senate are involved with what they are investigating. Some of them appeared at the day’s Washington rally with the president, who urged his followers to fight for their country immediately before sending them off to the insurrection. Other members would be witnesses and some, according to news accounts, might be found to have aided and abetted the rioters.

The legislation allows the leaders of each political party to select five commissioners — none of whom could be in Congress or the federal government— and the chair and vice chair of the commission would be appointed by the respective parties. Key decisions would have to be made jointly. This structure, bipartisan to its core, would force the kind of cooperation that is sorely lacking in Washington.

9/11 REPORT A MODEL WITH PROVEN SUCCESS

This model is not new: With minor exceptions, it was the one adopted by the bipartisan 9/11 commission, which uncovered the weaknesses in our national security that left us vulnerable to attack and served up recommendations for keeping the country safe. Congress acted on those recommendations, and in the 20 years since 9/11, there have been no comparable foreign terrorist attacks on American soil.

Our democracy is only resilient when its leaders work together to examine difficult problems and propose solutions that will shield those fragile places from future assaults. But many in Washington revel in wild partisanship, hurling insults — and worse — from one side to the other.

We believe America has an opportunity to break that cycle with a major assist from Missouri Republican Sen. Roy Blunt, who was once a teacher of history and should know how important this moment is to our nation’s foundation.

During his tenure, Blunt has shown his colleagues how to work across the aisle to get things done not only for matters important to Missouri but also on matters of importance to the nation. He has partnered with Democratic senators to pass investments in innovative manufacturing, mental health services and the National Institutes for Health. The legislation to create an independent Jan. 6 commission falls squarely in this tradition.

While we are concerned Sen. Blunt has recently questioned the timing of the commission’s formation before congressional hearings have concluded, we encourage him to put aside the usual prerogatives of the Senate in order to address one of the most damaging assaults on our democracy in our nation’s history.

This bipartisan bill will need strong leaders to carry it through a fractious Senate. We encourage Missouri’s senior senator to play this role seizing this opportunity for the good of our nation.

Tom Coleman is a former Republican U.S. representative from Missouri and serves as an adviser to Protect Democracy, from the 501(c)(3) nonprofit Protect Democracy Project. Russ Carnahan is a former Democratic U.S. representative from Missouri and serves as senior policy adviser for Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, LLP.
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05.26.21
Source: Roy Blunt, bring your record of bipartisanship to bolster a Jan. 6 attack commission
The Kansas City Star

Photo credit: Investigating the insurrection at the Capitol demands real leadership. History is watching, Sen. Roy Blunt. EVAN VUCCI ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO