WASHINGTON — U.S. Capitol Police employees are at risk of being furloughed if Congress doesn’t provide the agency more money before the end of September.
Capitol Police will run out of money in the account used to pay salaries in mid-August, but they might be able to stretch out the process and transfer money from other sources, a source familiar with the situation told NBC News. The condition of the depleted account and risk of furloughs was first reported by Punchbowl News.
The police issued a statement saying that the agency “continues to advise and work with” lawmakers to ensure they can continue to protect the Capitol and members of Congress.
Earlier this year, the House narrowly passed a $1.9 billion emergency spending measure to boost security, including to backfill overtime pay for the agency until it can hire, train and deploy more officers. No Republicans supported the measure in the House and it has since been stalled in the Senate.
Police officials have already detailed in prior testimony that officers have worked more overtime since the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
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Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., sounded the alarm about the stalled bill.
“Senate Republicans have refused to join bipartisan negotiations to address these urgent security needs, and now the Capitol Police risks running out of funding this summer,” Leahy said in a statement. “I am committed to moving a bill in the Senate to address these important needs and prevent this self-made crisis; it must be done. Without intervention, the Department will deplete salaries funds by early August.”
Earlier this week, Acting U.S. Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman said on the six-month anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack that her agency has increased training for officers, expanded intelligence sharing and procured additional equipment such as helmets and shields. Pittman also said that the department plans to open field offices in California and Florida.
Leigh Ann Caldwell contributed.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
