House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Sunday that Democrats' Capitol security supplemental funding bill, which will reportedly total $2 billion, is "just about ready."
"We'll put it forth when it is ready, and it is just about ready now," Pelosi told CBS' "Face the Nation." She did not discuss a final price tag.
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After pro-Trump protesters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, retired Army Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré conducted a review into what happened in order to provide recommendations in the following areas: Capitol security operations, infrastructure physical security, and member security in congressional districts, residences, and during travel. Recommendations were passed on to the House sergeant-at-arms.
"I'm talking about General Honoré’s suggestions about what are needed. There has been a report about shortcomings in the Capitol Police that must be addressed," Pelosi said. "We're talking about money, and we want to make sure it is the appropriate amount, nothing less than we need but nothing more than we need and appropriately prioritized to, again, open up the Capitol so that it is the temple of democracy that it is, that people can come and be there with adequate protection."
National Guard keep watch on the Capitol, Thursday, March 4, 2021, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) (AP)
"We're in a good place and we feel — how can I say it — we think that it is the appropriate prioritizing that we're putting forward. But legislation is always a conversation," she continued.
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The task force called for a renewed push to fill the 233 open positions on the force and for Congress to fund 350 new jobs and new fencing systems and other infrastructure. The task force also wants Congress to give the Capitol Police chief new authority to seek National Guard support in a crisis. Former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund has alleged that leaders on the three-member Capitol Police Board delayed his calls for National Guard help on Jan. 6, which former members of the board have denied.
"It is the most important building in America, because it’s the seat of our democracy," Honoré told ABC's "This Week" last Sunday. "If that building and the people in it don’t function, we no longer have democracy. And whatever price we have to pay to protect it, we need to do it."
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The Capitol Police are not a typical law enforcement agency. The roughly 2,000 officers are responsible solely for protecting Congress — its members, visitors, and facilities which include an area of about 16 acres.
The department dates back to the early 1800s, after President John Quincy Adams asked that a police force be established to help protect the building following incidents there. Now they have an operating budget of $460 million.
Fox News' Danielle Wallace and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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