119-hr1749

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1749 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 1749

To permit employees of the House of Representatives who are authorized 
 to possess certain weapons in the District of Columbia to bring such 
 weapons into House Office Buildings for secure storage, and for other 
 purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 February 27, 2025

 Mr. Steube introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on 
 Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently 
 determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

To permit employees of the House of Representatives who are authorized 
 to possess certain weapons in the District of Columbia to bring such 
 weapons into House Office Buildings for secure storage, and for other 
 purposes.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Safe Storage 
Lockers for House Office Buildings Act''.

    (b) 

=== Findings ===
-Congress finds the following:

    (1) In 2024, there were 3,469 violent crime incidents in 
 the District of Columbia, making our Nation's capital one of 
 the most dangerous cities in the United States.

    (2) Many employees of the House of Representatives who work 
 in House Office Buildings in the District of Columbia commute 
 to and from their offices by walking, and many have themselves 
 been victims of these crimes in the District of Columbia.

    (3) Individuals in the District of Columbia are authorized 
 under District of Columbia law to carry and use certain weapons 
 for self-defense, including self-defense sprays, stun guns, and 
 concealed firearms. However, District of Columbia and Federal 
 law prohibit individuals from carrying these weapons inside a 
 Federal building.

    (4) As a result, employees of the House of Representatives 
 who work in House Office Buildings in the District of Columbia 
 are prohibited from carrying weapons inside the buildings in 
 which they work, even if these employees are authorized under 
 District of Columbia law to carry and use these weapons for 
 self-defense outside these buildings.

SEC. 2. AUTHORIZING HOUSE EMPLOYEES TO BRING CERTAIN SELF-DEFENSE 
 WEAPONS INTO HOUSE OFFICE BUILDINGS.

    (a) Authorization.--An individual who is an employee of the House 
of Representatives may bring a weapon described in subsection

    (b) into 
a House office building if--

    (1) the individual is authorized under the laws of the 
 District of Columbia to carry the weapon outside of the 
 building;

    (2) immediately prior to entering the building, the 
 individual is carrying the weapon in compliance with such laws;

    (3) the individual enters the building through an external 
 pedestrian entrance;

    (4) upon entering the building with the weapon, the 
 individual leaves the weapon in a storage locker operated by 
 the United States Capitol Police under 

section 3 while the 
 individual remains in the building; and

    (5) after retrieving the weapon from the locker, the 
 individual leaves the building immediately.

    (b) Weapons Described.--The weapons described in this subsection 
are as follows:

    (1) A self-defense spray described in 

section 212 of the 
 Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975 (

sec. 7-2502.12, D.C. 
 Official Code).

    (2) A stun gun described in 

section 101

    (17A) of the 
 Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975 (

sec. 7-2501.01

    (17A) , 
 D.C. Official Code).

    (3) A firearm described in 

section 101

    (9) of the Firearms 
 Control Regulations Act of 1975 (

sec. 7-2501.01

    (9) , D.C. 
 Official Code).

SEC. 3. PROVISION OF SAFE STORAGE LOCKERS AT BUILDING ENTRANCES.

    (a) Responsibilities of Capitol Police Board.--Not later than 180 
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Capitol Police 
Board shall design, install, and operate storage lockers at external 
pedestrian entrances to each House office building, which may be used 
while an employee of the House is in the building to safely store a 
weapon which the employee brings into the building under 

section 2, and 
from which the employee may retrieve the weapon when the employee 
leaves the building.

    (b) Regulations.--The Capitol Police Board shall promulgate such 
regulations as may be required to carry out this section.
            (c) Conforming Amendment.--

Section 5104

    (e)

    (1)
        (A) of title 40, 
United States Code, is amended by striking ``except as authorized'' and 
inserting ``except as provided under the Safe Storage Lockers for House 
Office Buildings Act or as authorized''.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    (a) Employee of the House of Representatives.--In this Act, an 
``employee of the House of Representatives'' includes an intern 
(whether paid or unpaid) and a fellow assigned to an office of the 
House of Representatives.

    (b) House Office Building.--

    (1) In general.--In this Act, the term ``House office 
 building'' means any of the following:
        (A) The Cannon House Office Building.
        (B) The Longworth House Office Building.
            (C) The Rayburn House Office Building.
            (D) The Ford House Office Building.
        (E) The O'Neill House Office Building.
        (F) The House wing of the United States Capitol.

    (2) Exclusion of garages.--The term ``House office 
 building'' does not include a garage of a building described in 
 paragraph

    (1) .
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