A measure that would give the US Capitol Police commander unilateral authority to request assistance from the National Guard or federal law enforcement in case of an emergency is headed to President Joe Biden for his signature, per CNN. 

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The chief currently must obtain the approval of the Capitol Police Board before requesting this type of assistance, a barrier Republicans and Democrats believe is partly to blame for the delay in federal forces assisting during the January 6 attacks on Capitol Hill. 

“January 6th showed us that every minute counts during an emergency,” Senator Amy Klobuchar said in a statement. “This legislation will help ensure the Capitol Police Chief has the authority needed to call for reinforcements at the Capitol swiftly during emergencies.” 

According to Klobuchar’s report, Capitol Police officers and their law enforcement partners were left alone to defend the Capitol and “our democracy itself from violent insurrectionists,” while the Chief of the Capitol Police was delayed in receiving authority to call in the National Guard. 

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Following Inspector General Michael Bolton’s testimony that approximately a quarter of the 104 recommendations submitted after the January 6 attacks by a Trump-supporting mob had been carried out over a year later, Klobuchar introduced the bill with Senator Roy Blunt. It was also discovered that the department had not implemented most of the 200 security measures.

“The Department still lacks the overall training infrastructure to meet the needs of the Department, the level of Intelligence gathering and expertise needed, and an overall cultural change needed to move the department into a protective agency as opposed to a traditional Police Department,” Bolton told lawmakers.