Norton Introduces Bill to Ensure Public Access to Public Buildings and Grounds

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) reintroduced her United States Commission on an Open Society with Security Act to establish a national commission of experts from a broad spectrum of disciplines to investigate how to maintain our democratic traditions of openness and access while responding to the security threats posed by terrorism. The bill authorizes a 21-member commission, with the President designating nine members and the House and Senate leadership each designating six members, to investigate and offer recommendations on the balance between public access to and security in Federal buildings and other Federal property. Members of the commission must come from diverse fields, including security, architecture, technology, sociology, psychology, military, city planning, business, engineering and history. Norton began working on the bill after Pennsylvania Avenue was closed and security barriers were erected in D.C. following the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995. The events of 9/11 and the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol have underscored the bill's urgency.

Norton has previously introduced the No Fencing at the United States Capitol Complex Act, which would prohibit the installation of permanent fencing at the Capitol complex, and introduced a bill to prohibit permanent fencing at the Supreme Court in May of 2026. Her consistent calls to remove the temporary fencing installed at the Capitol complex after the January 6^th attack, which gained congressional and national support, led to the removal of the fencing.

"We cannot allow security protocols to proliferate without informed civilian oversight and a thorough analysis of alternatives that might better safeguard freedom and commerce," Norton said. "Thus far, we've often relied on imprecise, medieval approaches like crude barriers or on intrusive new technologies that treat privacy like a privilege instead of a right. We can, and must, do better."

Norton's introductory statement follows.

Statement of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton on the Introduction of the United States Commission on an Open Society with Security Act of 2026

Today, I introduce the United States Commission on an Open Society with Security Act of 2026, which would create a commission to investigate how we can maintain our democratic traditions while actively responding to the real and substantial threats posed by foreign and domestic terrorism.

The impetus for this bill was the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995. Its importance grew after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, and the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. The tragic attacks endured by our nation have led to a series of sweeping security measures that are deemed both necessary and temporary in the moment, but create lasting security infrastructure that is difficult to dismantle and infringes on our open, democratic society.

We must acknowledge and accept that we have entered an era of constant internal and external threats, requiring ever-higher levels of security for our people and public spaces. What we thought would be a temporary infringement on our open society has turned into a permanent restriction on how our citizens interact with each other and our democratic institutions. Because emergencies typically dictate security decisions, essential discussions on the proper balance between security, individual rights and the freedoms enjoyed in an open society have been repeatedly deferred.

This bill would ensure that these long overdue discussions take place in a public forum with experts from across the spectrum. To date, security planning has been delegated almost exclusively to security, intelligence and military experts. Although their input is indispensable, they cannot be expected to consider matters outside of their expertise. To strike a better balance with our democratic traditions, we need to invite experts from diverse fields to the same table to work together. Therefore, the commission would be composed not only of security, intelligence and military experts, but also experts from such fields as business, architecture, technology, law, city planning, art, engineering, philosophy, history, sociology and psychology.

We have used commissions before to deeply investigate and address unprecedented challenges, such as the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (also known as the 9/11 Commission), the Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction (also known as the Silberman Robb Commission) and the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders (also known as the Kerner Commission).

The commission created by this bill would seek to avert a crisis in basic freedoms before their infringement becomes entrenched. We cannot allow security protocols to proliferate without informed civilian oversight and a thorough analysis of alternatives that might better safeguard freedom and commerce.

Furthermore, we have had decades to develop security strategies and technologies that do not deprive our citizens of access to institutions and personal liberty. Thus far, we have either relied on imprecise, medieval approaches like crude barriers or on intrusive new technologies that treat privacy like a privilege instead of a right. We can, and must, do better.

As the home of the federal government, the District of Columbia and its residents have suffered disproportionate infringement on public spaces, personal rights and freedoms in the name of security. Public spaces that serve as the heart of our local communities have become restricted zones characterized by a heavy security presence, with individuals liable to be reprimanded for walking on the wrong side of the street or marveling too long at the architecture. Barriers such as walls and fences are touted as essential security features while our citizens are left peering at their democracy from a distance.

Security is not only about reducing lives lost and costs. It is also about safeguarding the institutions, freedoms and values that anchor our country, not only for ourselves but for future generations. The social compact between government and the people should not be the result of a series of hostage negotiations. We must resume reasoned and deliberative decision-making, beginning with a high-level commission composed of experts from diverse disciplines charged with developing a new course that will protect both our people and our precious democratic institutions and traditions.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

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