PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management.
Congressional Research Service
No official summary is available in the imported record yet.
People & committees
Rep. Steube, W. Gregory [R-FL-17] · R–FL
Legislative record
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Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management.
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.
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.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Jun 12, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
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Analyze H.R.1749 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine H.R.1749 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2025-02-27 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
This proposal would let House employees bring certain self-defense weapons into specified House buildings, subject to conditions on lawful carrying, entry, storage and departure. Employees would have to leave the weapons in Capitol Police storage lockers while inside and leave immediately after retrieving them. The Capitol Police Board would have to install and operate entrance lockers within 180 days after enactment.
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—
(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.
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
The bill's findings present the proposal as addressing a conflict between employees' ability to carry self-defense weapons outside work and restrictions inside their workplaces. These are the bill's stated findings, not independent verification of existing law or proof that lockers would improve safety.
Congress finds the following:
(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.
To use the proposed permission, a House employee would have to be authorized to carry the weapon outside the building under District of Columbia law, comply with that law immediately before entry, and enter through an external pedestrian entrance. The employee would have to store the weapon upon entry, keep it stored throughout the stay, and leave immediately after retrieving it.
(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.
The covered weapons would be self-defense sprays, stun guns and firearms described in specified District of Columbia statutes. Those statutory descriptions are referenced but not reproduced in the supplied text.
(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).
The proposal expressly includes paid and unpaid interns and fellows assigned to House offices within its definition of House employees.
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.
The proposal would cover the Cannon, Longworth, Rayburn, Ford and O’Neill House Office Buildings and the House wing of the Capitol. It expressly excludes their garages.
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.
The term House office building does not include a garage of a building described in paragraph (1).
Within 180 days after enactment, the Capitol Police Board would have to design, install and operate lockers at external pedestrian entrances to each covered building. Employees could use them to store qualifying weapons during their stays and retrieve them when leaving.
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.
The Capitol Police Board would be required to issue whatever regulations are needed to carry out the locker section.
The Capitol Police Board shall promulgate such regulations as may be required to carry out this section.
The bill would change an existing federal statutory exception to expressly include conduct permitted under this proposal, while retaining the reference to other authorized conduct. The surrounding federal provision is not reproduced, so the supplied text does not establish its full scope.
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.
The supplied official-actions snapshot, updated June 12, 2025, records introduction in the House on February 27, 2025, and referrals that day to the House Administration and Transportation and Infrastructure committees and the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management. This dated record does not establish subsequent legislative status.
Source snapshot updated 2025-06-12T08:06:35Z.
2025-02-27: Introduced in House
2025-02-27: 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.
2025-02-27: Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management.
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2025-02-27. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy change attached to appropriations was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending allocation qualifying as an earmark was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This text-only conclusion does not establish formal earmark status or absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
Findings to examine
The proposal contains a narrowly limited statutory permission central to its main policy. Classification as a targeted benefit is not a judgment about its justification.
House employees would receive a special, conditional permission to bring covered weapons into House office buildings, backed by an express exception added to federal law. The permission requires lawful carrying under District of Columbia law, entry through an external pedestrian entrance, storage throughout the visit and immediate departure after retrieval.
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.
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.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Jun 12, 2025. How PlainBill uses AI