Senate negotiators reached an agreement Tuesday on $2.1 billion in funding to fund security on Capitol Hill, reimburse authorities who responded to the Jan. 6 …
Senate negotiators reached an agreement Tuesday on $2.1 billion in funding to fund security on Capitol Hill, reimburse authorities who responded to the Jan.6 insurrection attempt, and support relocating Afghans who assisted the U.S. during the war. Senate Appropriations Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and the committee’s top Republican, Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama, came to a bipartisan agreement after months of negotiations. The money would go to the National Guard after it helped in Washington, D.C., for the Jan.6. riot and to beef up Capitol security to prevent against future attacks. “We have the responsibility to take care of the Capitol Police in the wake of their incredible service on Jan.6, and to reimburse our National Guard for costs incurred protecting the Capitol. We have the responsibility to pay for costs we have already incurred as a result of the pandemic. And we have the moral responsibility to stand with our Afghan partners who stood with us through two decades of war, » Leahy said in a statement. The United States Capitol Police would collectively receive more than $400 million under the agreement. Nearly $71 million of that is in response to the Jan.6 attack that would support overtime, hiring more officers, offering hazard pay, and giving out retention bonuses.
