House votes, along party lines, to set up Jan. 6 investigation committee

The House voted 222-190 on Wednesday to pass H.Res. 503, which would establish a Select Committee to investigate the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

The 13-member panel is tasked with investigating and reporting “upon the facts, circumstances, and causes relating to the January 6, 2021, domestic terrorist attack upon the United States Capitol.”

“I swore an oath many times as a Navy officer, and as a member of Congress, to uphold the Constitution against enemies foreign and domestic,” Second District Congresswoman Elaine Luria said. “The American people have a right to know the facts of what motivated the attack on the U.S. Capitol and the extent to which these extremist groups continue to undermine our Constitution and subvert our democratic values.

“Previous attempts to investigate this attack have been thwarted by those who routinely put politics over country. Enough is enough, it’s time to unearth all the facts surrounding the January 6 attack and unite the country around solutions to strengthen our democracy and eradicate domestic extremism,” Luria said.

“Today every House Democrat and two House Republicans voted to do the right thing and create a select committee to investigate the January 6th attack,” Eighth District Congressman Don Beyer said.

“House Republicans’ behavior in this matter has been disgraceful and appalling. They voted against legislation their members helped write to set up a bipartisan commission modeled on the 9/11 Commission, then had the temerity to complain that today’s outcome was unfairly partisan. Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy spent months avoiding my constituent, MPD Officer Michael Fanone, before promising that he would take the January 6th investigation seriously. Today, while Officer Fanone and the mother of my constituent Officer Brian Sicknick watched the debate from the House Gallery, many of McCarthy’s members skipped the vote to attend a photo op with the person who incited the Jan. 6th attack: Donald Trump.

“The attack on the Capitol was an attack on our democracy, an attempt to overturn our election through violence and fear. Too many people – including Members of Congress – still deny key facts about what happened, and why. It is vitally important that we establish the truth,” Beyer said.