Capitol Police, a department shrouded in secrecy: not subject to FOIA requests

Rep. Tim Ryan, an Ohio Democrat who chairs the Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee, which controls the coffers for the police, said his panel is working on increasing transparency, but did not weigh in on FOIA.

“All police departments have an obligation to be transparent, and the U.S. Capitol Police is no exception,” Ryan said. “The Legislative Branch Subcommittee, as well as the other authorizing committees on Capitol Hill, conduct rigorous oversight of the USCP and continues to work to improve the availability and accessibility of arrest data and other information. We are currently looking into a number of improvements to expand transparency as we move through the FY 2021 cycle.”

Ryan’s counterpart on the committee, ranking member Jaime Herrera Beutler echoed her colleague. “We plan to keep working across the aisle to increase transparency and oversight of the U.S. Capitol Police, and will seek improvements in this regard as we work to craft the FY 2021 spending plan,” the Washington Republican said.

Representatives for leaders of the Senate committees with oversight of Capitol Police — Senate Appropriations Legislative Branch Subcommittee Chairwoman Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss.; ranking member Christopher S. Murphy, D-Conn.; Senate Rules and Administration Chairman Roy Blunt, R-Mo.; and ranking member Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn. — did not comment.

Representatives for Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer also did not respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif., the sponsor of the Democrats’ policing legislation, did not comment.

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