Key senators announce bipartisan deal on $2.1 billion emergency security supplemental bill to send much-needed funding to Capitol Police for training, equipment and overtime.
The deal also includes more than $500 million to the National Guard to reimburse the department for the long hours guardsmen put in guarding the Capitol in the wake of the attack and additional funding will be allotted for making repairs to the building after rioters damaged the centuries-old historic building.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., told reporters that"We're going to take care of the Capitol Police, fix all the problems that need to be done here , certainly take care of the National Guard, which is critical, because they have real problems."Senator Patrick Leahy speaks during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies hearing, June 23, 2021, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
The Guard has been desperate for the reimbursement, threatening to cancel training events, drills in August and September and potentially furloughing civilians. The embattled Capitol Police, still clawing back from the Jan. 6 attacks -- enacting changes in leadership, grappling with retirements and officers walking away from the job after that harrowing day -- have said they would be out of funding by mid-August if Congress did not act.