Hill security talks at a new impasse with Capitol Police running low on cash

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

High-stakes talks on Hill security funding looked grim Monday with the Capitol Police close to running out of money for salaries after the Senate’s top Democratic appropriator offered a $3.7 billion plan — nearly double the size of a House-passed bill the GOP has spurned as too big.

Appropriations Chair Patrick Leahy released his own massive proposal to cover the financial fallout from the Jan. 6 Capitol attack after Republicans countered Friday with a $632.9 million bill that scraps hundreds of millions of dollars for Democratic priorities to secure the Capitol complex. Leahy’s offer, which doesn’t attempt to bridge a widening partisan divide, would also patch Capitol Police and National Guard budget shortfall amid growing urgency to assist both forces as they run short of cash and resources for salaries and training.

The Capitol Police in particular is expected to get hit with a funding pinch as soon as next month, with no fix in sight. Leahy’s offer of help is much more generous than the $1.9 billion bill the House approved in May, which barely passed after progressives objected and later stalled in the Senate amid Republican objections.

Leahy argued the Senate needed to forge ahead and quickly pass the legislation to cover shortfalls and plug security gaps six months after the deadly Capitol insurrection.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/hill-security-talks-at-a-new-impasse-with-capitol-police-running-low-on-cash/ar-AAM4h9O

Senate Democrats unveil $3.7 billion Capitol security funding bill

Sen. Patrick Leahy, a Democrat from Vermont and chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, unveiled a new $3.7 billion proposal to supplement security funding at the Capitol and beyond in the wake of the January 6 Capitol Insurrection.

The almost $4 billion plan is close to double what House Democrats have already passed in May. In addition to beefing up funding for Capitol Police and the National Guard, the Leahy plan also provided funding to help Afghan supporters of the US military obtain visas as the US ends its combat operations presence there, offers funding for the Department of Defense to help beef up Covid protections and provides a influx in cash to help harden the Capitol's security posture.

Speaking on the Senate floor, Leahy urged his Senate colleagues, both Republican and Democrat, to support the plan.

"We did not budget for an insurrection, and I am glad that my Republican colleagues have joined the negotiating table on this urgent matter, but their proposal falls far short of the needs of the moment. A violent insurrection happened. A pandemic happened. And the President announced the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan. These events created urgent needs that must be met now."

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/senate-democrats-unveil-3-7-billion-capitol-security-funding-bill/ar-AAM4qWS

[abqtommy]

1. Now if someone with authority would take steps to expel all the reTHUG Fascist Insurrectionist

Seditious Cultists from The U.S. Congress and Senate we could get the funding done just fine.

[slightlv]

2. REC

that's exactly what I was thinking. Start investigating, making public, and trying those Repugs who were on the Insurrectionist teams, whether directly or indirectly, and we'll not only get security for good Congressional Hill Reps, but also get laws passed and stuff done that *needs* to be done in this country!