{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://norton.house.gov//media-center/press-releases/norton-to-former-senate-sergeant-at-arms-on-capitol-complex-security-don", "Norton to Former Senate Sergeant-At-Arms on Capitol Complex Security: Dont Fence Us In", "2014-10-23", "2014", "2014-10", "Democrat", "House", "DC", "Eleanor Norton", "N000147", "norton.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), a senior member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, today called former Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Terrance W. Gainer\u2019s comments in a Roll Call article yesterday about fencing off the Capitol Complex, \u201cdesperate, distasteful, and disrespectful.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Gainer suggested adding a fence around the entire perimeter of the Capitol and \u201cre-routing\u201d traffic on Constitution Avenue and Independence Avenue.\u00a0 He called the public lanes on Independence and Constitution avenues an \u201cattractive nuisance\u201d and suggested a \u201ctasteful fence\u201d around the Capitol Complex.\n\u201cI believe that most Members of Congress would agree that we do not want to be fenced in and our constituents don\u2019t want to be fenced out,\u201d Norton said.\u00a0 \u201cCalling the streets around the Capitol an \u2018attractive nuisance\u2019 is the same as calling the public a nuisance.\u00a0 Gainer\u2019s notion of a \u2018tasteful fence\u2019 would be inherently distasteful and disrespectful to D.C. residents and the millions who visit the Capitol each year.\u00a0 Worse, closing the streets and enclosing the Capitol within a fence would send the message that a Congress that cannot keep itself safe without fencing itself in cannot keep the country safe.\u00a0 If security officials were actually suggesting gating the Congress from our constituents, they would signal that they have given up on state-of-the-art security and simply don\u2019t know what to do.\u00a0 It is instructive that Gainer never recommended such a proposal while he was seargent-at-arms. He is using the Canadian tragedy to re-float his earlier try at this same proposal. The Capitol Police, who guard the Capitol grounds outside as well as the inside of the Capitol, are fully equipped, have guns, and are well-trained.\u00a0 Gainer\u2019s comments are a slap in the face not only to our constituents, but also to the Capitol Police.\u201d\nNorton says she is strongly committed to public safety and to keeping government and its First Amendment areas open to the public.\u00a0 She said that she does not regard the two as inconsistent and does not believe 21st-century security officials do either. \u00a0Last month, following the White House breach by Omar Gonzalez and ahead of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on the matter, Norton toured the White House perimeter to see for herself whether public access was being safeguarded or if the first target for fixing White House security was the public.\u00a0 Prior to her site visit, Norton sent a letter requesting a meeting with then- U.S. Secret Service Director Julia Pierson, who later phoned Norton.\u00a0\u00a0\nFollowing the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, the Secret Service closed Pennsylvania Avenue at the front of the White House and E Street at the rear to public access.\u00a0 However, Norton worked with the White House and the National Park Service to widen E Street at the back of the White House, and maintained the access across E Street, a major thoroughfare for the city and the region was rescued.\u00a0 However, E Street was summarily closed after 9/11 and the Secret Service has since found no way to reopen this road.\u00a0 Norton said that Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House must remain open to the public just as the Capitol Complex should.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://norton.house.gov//media-center/press-releases/norton-to-former-senate-sergeant-at-arms-on-capitol-complex-security-don"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8630831725895405, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}