Securing Article I Authority

Floor Speech

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Mrs. HAYES. Mr. Speaker, on February 7, Members of the United States House of Representatives were denied access to the Department of Education. In recent weeks, Members have also been denied access to other Federal agencies, including USAID, the Department of the Treasury, and the EPA.

Members of Congress are a branch of the Federal Government and should be allowed to legally access Federal buildings. Through Article I of the Constitution, we are a co-equal partner and have the same authority to check and balance the other branches.

I introduced the All Access Act, with 44 of my colleagues, to ensure Members of Congress have access to Federal buildings upon showing a valid Member ID. Even Republicans should agree that this separation of power should be protected.

I ask my colleagues to join me in securing our Article I authority and protecting the ability to do our jobs that we were elected to do.

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