Pascrell Condemns Disgraceful Republican Blockade of January 6 Commission

PATERSON, NJ – U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09) today condemned Senate Republicans’ blocking of the formation of a bipartisan commission to investigate the January 6 terrorist riot on the United States Capitol. Pascrell voted for the creation of the commission in the House last week. That measure was supported by all House Democrats and 35 House Republicans.

“This week, Officer Brian Sicknick’s grieving mother came to Capitol Hill. She came to beg Republican Senators not to block a bi-partisan commission into the January 6 terrorist attack that claimed her son’s life as he was protecting these very senators. Today, the Republican Senators who voted no told Ms. Sicknick, police officers, staff, and every American to go to hell,” said Rep. Pascrell.

“January 6 is one of the darkest days in American history. Egged on by an authoritarian chief executive, Republican elected officials and others spouting the Big Lie, the mob sought to overturn a fair election and decapitate our government. Our responsibility to the present, the future, and the judgment of history are titanic. The House must move swiftly to fully investigate January 6th.

“Republicans want to hide the truth to erase history. Let us never, ever forget that hours after the Capitol insurrection, with broken glass still on the floor, over two-thirds of the House Republican caucus voted to fulfill the rioters’ demented quest and overturn the election. The leaders of the Republican Party continue to demonstrate their hostility to the American experiment and democracy itself. We cannot let them.”

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