The US Capitol Police is preparing to ask Congress to increase the budget by 14% in 2024, which would bring the agency’s budget to more than $840 million, CBS News has learned. The request will be submitted this week at a hearing of a House subcommittee that oversees funding for the police department tasked with securing the Capitol and keeping lawmakers safe, according to a Democratic congressman who reviewed the request and shared details of the request.
The budget request comes amid growing concerns of violent threats against members of Congress and during the effort’s third year Prevent recurrence affiliate January 6, 2021 attack.
If approved, the budget would give the congressional internal police department a larger annual budget than police departments in many major US cities, including Philadelphia, Denver, Cleveland and Tampa.
The roughly $840 million request would dwarf some of previous years’ requests, and would more than double the $356 million budget request the administration submitted in 2015.
Rep. Adriano Espilat, R-N.Y., the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Subcommittee in the legislative branch, told CBS News that the proposed budget, to be presented by Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger on Wednesday, would seek funding to pursue the hiring of nearly 800 additional officers. The agency, which has nearly 2,300 sworn officers and other staff members, is actively recruiting to maintain its strength, facing a series of routine retirements of veteran officers while still dealing with the impact of the retirement and resignations it has sparked. January 6 attack.
“Given what’s happening in the country, it’s important that everyone is safe at the center of democracy,” Espailat said. He added that the police department faces a growing and urgent need to ensure protection for members of Congress in and outside Washington, DC
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A CBS News review of Capitol Police records shows the agency has Handle nearly 26,000 threat investigations in the past three years. The agency investigated 7,501 cases involving threats against members of Congress in 2022, down from 9,625 in 2021, but still double the 3,939 cases it investigated in 2017.
The potential presence of former President Trump as a White House candidate in 2024 could increase rancor and criticism of US policy, Espillat said, and underscores the need for a stronger and better police department.
“It will inject some toxic emotion into the race in 2024, which will create more security,” Espaillat said.
Nevada Congressman Mark Amoudi, chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee in the Legislative Branch, said the committee does not provide a blank check to the Capitol Police Department, and there will be time to “back and forth” and review the department’s request. “No way will the cake be baked,” Amoudi, a Republican, told CBS News when the police chief details the budget request Wednesday.
Amody noted that the Capitol Police has a unique mission and needs resources.
“Their job is not just the people you see in uniform at the doors at the (Capitol) entrances,” he said. Both Amodei and Espaillat emphasized the importance of the department’s personal protection unit, which helps protect members of Congress across the country.
Congressional leaders, members of Congress, and their families have suffered a series of attacks over the past 12 years, including the 2011 shooting of former Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Gifford, and a shooting rampage at a 2017 congressional baseball practice that left Republican House whip Steve Scales. Louisiana, and a Hammer Attack 2022 against Paul Pelosi, husband of then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, at the couple’s home in San Francisco.
Amoudi said the committee’s hearing on Wednesday will be the start of a lengthy review process of the police department’s budget. “The only recourse is in the facts,” Amoudi said.
Amody said the committee will also review changes the police department made in the wake of the Capitol attack. “We want to make sure that, as we move forward, we don’t ignore or fail to look at those lessons learned,” he said.
The US Capitol Police did not comment on the agency’s upcoming budget request.
At a December hearing of the Senate Rules Committee, the director spoke about the department’s efforts to boost staffing, saying, “We’ve added a significant number of new recruits to our roster, men and women who will play an invaluable role in the (Capitol) reopening effort.”
The director told the senators, “I don’t have to tell you how important it is that the department be properly staffed. I know you’ve heard me talk about it over and over again. We can’t strengthen protection details or fully reopen the Capitol without more staff.”
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