WASHINGTON — Lawmakers could see a $30 million boost in security funding in the upcoming government spending package in an attempt to alleviate safety concerns after the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk last week.
The money would be added to the House member security pilot program that was created earlier this summer, which allows lawmakers to request security detail at home in their districts through a partnership with Capitol Police and local law enforcement agencies. Text of the specific program details in the spending package are expected sometime Tuesday afternoon.
“The tragedy has also initiated a number of uncomfortable but necessary conversations about important issues like the safety and security of our members and the responsibility of public servants and the need for political leaders to turn down the temperature and the violent rhetoric in America not helpful,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said on Tuesday.
The new spending will add to the program that approved one-time payments of $20,000 for members to install security measures at their personal homes, an increase from the previous allotment of $10,000. Lawmakers were also given monthly payment of $5,000 for personal security, although those payments expire on Oct. 1.
The added spending will ensure those $5,000 payments will continue, but only for the one-month window provided by the stopgap spending measure.
To continue those payments beyond November, the House Administration Committee would need to advance separation legislation specifically related to the program.
The increased security funding will be tucked into a larger measure to extend government funding past the government deadline on Oct. 1, after which funding will lapse for federal agencies unless a spending agreement is passed. Top appropriators are moving forward with a two-pronged approach to pass three of the 12 annual appropriations bills in one package known as a “minibus” and then temporarily extend the deadline for the remaining nine bills.
The temporary extension, known as a continuing resolution, will punt the government funding deadline to Nov. 21 — giving lawmakers seven weeks to finalize the rest of the budget before the Thanksgiving holiday.
In addition to the member security, the CR will also allocate $58 million for other federal government officials — $30 million for those in the executive branch and $28 million within the judicial branch.
The CR also includes a number of anomaly requests from the White House, including a budget fix for the local government in Washington, D.C. The language would give the D.C. Council the authority to spend money from its own budget roughly six months after Congress mistakenly passed a law that resulted in a $1.1 billion funding shortfall.
Although Washington has its own mayor and city council, its local budget is ultimately under the control of Congress, which must approve it every year. That’s typically done with routine language in the annual appropriations bill — but it was inadvertently left out of the package when passed in March.
That reverted the city’s spending cap to 2024 levels despite the city already passing its budget for the 2025 fiscal year, leaving a $1 billion funding gap. That will be restored in the latest package.
The House is expected to vote on the CR on Friday, according to Johnson. After that, it will be sent to the Senate — which could be done as early as this weekend.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters on Monday he would keep the Senate in session if the House passed a CR this week, although didn’t detail whether that would last through the weekend. Congress is scheduled to be in recess next week to observe Rosh Hashanah.