Justin Bullock, FISM News
Congress passed a $2.1 billion bill that has the dual purpose of better funding Capitol security measures and personnel as well as funding Operation Allies Refuge which will help Afghani’s who helped the US military over the past 20 years relocate to the US. The bill unanimously passed in the Senate with a vote of 98-0 and was quickly approved in the House with a vote of 416-11. The funds for the bill are essentially split in half for its dual purposes.
Approximately $106.1 million is being given to the Capitol Hill Police in order to pay for overtime, new equipment, and fund joint efforts from local and state police forces when necessary. An additional $342.1 million will be spent on the Capitol Hill complex itself. These funds will go toward beefing up security measures around the complex as well as a small portion being spent on COVID-19 safety mechanisms. $521 million will be sent to the various National Guard forces as reimbursement for when they were deployed in response to the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot.
The remaining $1.13 billion will be spent on Operation Allies Refuge. Approximately $500 million will go to the Department of Defense, $25 million will go to the Department of Health and Human Services, and $600 million will go the Department of State. This bill represents a rare moment of bipartisan legislative agreement in an otherwise deeply divided Congress.