Lawmakers from the House of Representatives want taxpayers to shell out $10 million to make them feel safer, after the shooting at a congressional baseball practice in Virginia earlier this month.
A House panel on Tuesday approved the immediate allocation — that’s about $25,000, or half the average American’s annual salary, for each of the 435 House members — to pay for private security guards or off-duty police officers to protect them during town halls and other public events while they’re in their home district. It will cover those costs through fiscal year 2017, which ends Sept. 30.
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Besides the $10 million, House appropriators green-lighted a Legislative Branch spending bill for fiscal year 2018 that seeks to set aside $5 million for lawmakers to invest in secure technology (like panic buttons, key cards, and cameras) and $7.5 million in extra funding for Capitol Police to beef up security measures when lawmakers gather in groups in Washington.
In addition to the extra $7.5 million for security when House reps are in D.C., the spending bill also proposes increasing Capitol Police funding by $29.2 million, an increase of 7 percent.
“We owe it to the Capitol Police to make sure that they have the necessary resources they need to meet the mission in this increasingly polarized climate,” Rep. Kevin Yoder, a Kansas Republican and the panel’s chairman, said in a statement.
Top congressional lawmakers already get round-the-clock protection by Capitol Police, including House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, who was badly wounded along with 3 others when a gunman, who was staunchly anti-Republican opened fire at a baseball field where GOP lawmakers and aides were practicing for a charity game. Scalise’s security detail was praised for mitigating what could have been a bloodbath.
Meanwhile, lawmakers have reported receiving a recent deluge of death threats in the wake of the baseball shooting, and have also described feeling unsafe and vulnerable when facing angry constituents at rowdy town hall events in their home districts.
Congress members head home for the July 4th recess on Friday.
