House members will return to the Capitol on Wednesday for the first time since the Tucson, Ariz., shooting rampage that nearly killed colleague Gabrielle Giffords, and they are demanding improved protection ranging from office security cameras to the installation of a plexiglass barrier over the House floor. Members will meet Wednesday with the U.S. Capitol Police and the sergeant-at-arms to discuss security issues in the Capitol and at home in their own districts, which is where Giffords, a Democrat, was meeting with constituents when a gunman opened fire, killing six and injuring Giffords and 13 others. Some will come to the meeting with their own ideas about how to increase safety.
Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. on Tuesday called for an increase in House budget to allow for augmented security for members. Just last week, the House voted to slash its operating budget by 5 percent, or $35 million, as part of the GOP drive to reduce federal spending the cut the deficit.
Jackson wants that money restored, plus 10 percent, in order to augment security in the Capitol and in districts, where he said some lawmakers may need to hire security for constituent events and install surveillance cameras in their district offices.
"After the events of last weekend, it is clear that our district staffs are vulnerable," Jackson said in an e-mail. "Members should have the resources and the latitude to take appropriate security measures in order to protect themselves and their staffs."
Lawmakers are also nervous about security inside the Capitol complex, despite the hundreds of armed police officers who already guard it each day and the extensive screening required for those entering Capitol Hill buildings
Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., renewed his call for the installation of an impenetrable, see-through security shield around the viewing gallery overlooking the House floor. Burton points out that, while guns and some bombs would be picked up by metal detectors, a saboteur could get into the Capitol concealing plastic explosives.
The House floor, he pointed out, is the only room where all three branches of government gather to hear the president speak, as President Obama will do when he delivers his State of the Union address on Jan. 25.
Burton introduced the legislation in the past, but it's gone nowhere. He's hoping the tragic events of Saturday could help it win more serious consideration by the Republican leadership.
"I think the risk is there," Burton told The Washington Examiner. "The threat is more now than it has ever been."
House leaders met Tuesday with Capitol Police and the sergeant-at-arms.
The House Administration Committee, meanwhile, is reviewing security procedures inside the Capitol and in members' districts, said spokeswoman Salley Wood.
It's not likely the House will pay for U.S. Capitol Police to shadow all 435 members of Congress, Wood said, but instead would do more to coordinate with a member's state and local law enforcement to provide help in the event of a threat.