January 6, 2021, is a day we must never forget—or we will be doomed to repeat it. As Congress met that day to officially tally the Electoral College votes for President, a violent mob of domestic terrorists descended upon the Capitol Building and forcibly entered its hallowed halls. Lawmakers and their staff barricaded themselves in secure locations, while the aggressors proceeded to pillage offices and destroy federal property. Still others assaulted law enforcement personnel and took the life of Capitol Police Officer Brian D. Sicknick.
 
Everyone in our nation should remember January 6 as a day that shook the foundations of our democracy. We must never forget those who risked—and gave—their lives to defend the United States Capitol Building that day. That is why, I plan to introduce a legislative package to establish January 6 as Democracy Observance Day in Pennsylvania.
 
President Lincoln famously ended his Gettysburg address by saying, “We here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” Part of protecting our democracy is remembering when it was threatened and what is required of us as citizens to preserve it. Please join me in co-sponsoring this legislation and send a unified message to the people of Pennsylvania that we will always protect our democracy.