House Passes $2.1 Billion Capitol Security Bill

WASHINGTON — The House on Thursday overwhelmingly passed a $2.1 billion emergency spending bill that includes funding for the Capitol Police, a move that solved a potential budget shortfall that could have led to furloughs in August.
The bill, H.R. 3237, the Emergency Security Supplemental to Respond to Jan. 6 Appropriations Act, passed the House 416-11, with six Democrats and five Republicans voting against the measure.
Hours earlier, the Senate passed the same measure, 98-0.
The package cleared on Thursday provides the Capitol Police with $70.7 million for overtime pay, retention bonuses, equipment and mental health services. It also includes $300 million to harden windows and doors around the Capitol complex and install new security cameras.
Another $521 million would go toward reimbursing the National Guard for deploying its members to the Capitol for months after Jan. 6 to help support the enhanced security demands.
In a statement released immediately after the vote, Appropriations Committee Chair Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., recalled how on Jan. 6, “a mob of violent insurrectionists invaded our Capitol, hellbent on stopping the peaceful transfer of power.”
“The brave men and women of our Capitol Police protected us. And since that fateful day, they have continued to work day in and day out, with only the barest minimum of support,” DeLauro said.
“By passing this bill, we have honored the service of the Capitol Police and the National Guard with the funding they need. And we have sent a clear message that we respect the hard work they do,” she said.
The measure also includes $1.125 billion for Afghan refugee resettlement and would provide 8,000 Afghan special immigrant visas to relocate people who helped the U.S. military.
The compromise Senate measure lacks some of the provisions included in the original House bill, such as creating a rapid response force within the National Guard to back up the Capitol
Police in emergency situations and resources for prosecuting the people who stormed the Capitol in January.
“These needs will not disappear,” DeLauro said. “As we pass this bill today, we know that we are not finished – and we are committed to filling in the gaps the Senate amendment has left.”
In The News
Health
Voting
Congress
WASHINGTON — The House on Friday afternoon gave its approval to the Inflation Reduction Act, delivering a significant victory to... Read More
WASHINGTON — The House on Friday afternoon gave its approval to the Inflation Reduction Act, delivering a significant victory to President Joe Biden. The final vote was 220-207, along party lines. Four Republicans did not vote. In a tweet from Kiawah Island, South Carolina, where he... Read More
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats pushed their flagship climate change and health care bill toward House passage Friday, placing President Joe Biden on... Read More
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats pushed their flagship climate change and health care bill toward House passage Friday, placing President Joe Biden on the brink of a back-from-the-dead triumph on his leading domestic goals that could energize his party going into November’s elections. Democrats were poised to muscle the measure through the... Read More
WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump cannot block Congress from obtaining his tax returns as part of a House investigation... Read More
WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump cannot block Congress from obtaining his tax returns as part of a House investigation into audits of sitting presidents by the IRS, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday. The decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of... Read More
WASHINGTON — “It wasn’t on the scoreboard one month ago,” Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., marveled when talking to reporters over... Read More
WASHINGTON — “It wasn’t on the scoreboard one month ago,” Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., marveled when talking to reporters over the weekend, but in just a matter of days a budget reconciliation bill long presumed dead was suddenly a “historic” achievement. And if the House follows... Read More
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats have agreed to eleventh-hour changes to their marquee economic legislation, they announced late Thursday, clearing... Read More
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats have agreed to eleventh-hour changes to their marquee economic legislation, they announced late Thursday, clearing the major impediment to pushing one of President Joe Biden’s paramount election-year priorities through the chamber in coming days. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., a centrist seen as the... Read More
WASHINGTON — For 36 years, the United Network for Organ Sharing has provided a system for sick patients to get... Read More
WASHINGTON — For 36 years, the United Network for Organ Sharing has provided a system for sick patients to get donated vital organs but members from the Senate Committee on Finance are finding continued issues with the technology, and the government has little authority to change... Read More