House leaders temporarily double members’ monthly spending allotment for security

House leaders agreed to extend a pilot program for members to hire personal security guards for another two months and double the amount of money they can spend each month to $10,000.

The announcement comes amid lawmakers’ heightened anxiety about political violence after the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

The pilot program was announced in July, a month after a pair of Minnesota Democratic state lawmakers and their spouses were gunned down in their homes. State Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband were killed, and state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife survived the shootings.

House Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil, Wisconsin Republican and ranking member Joe Morelle, New York Democrat, announced Wednesday night that the pilot program for House members to hire personal security would be extended through Nov. 21, the end date of a stopgap government funding measure the House will vote on Friday.

The bill, known as a continuing resolution or “CR,” keeps the government operating largely at current spending levels to avoid a shutdown when the new fiscal year begins Oct. 1

The stopgap was released before the announcement and does not include extra funding for extending the pilot program. A House Administration Committee spokesperson said the extension will be funded by reallocating previously appropriated funds and the total cost will depend on how many members participate.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, Louisiana Republican, told reporters last week that roughly 20 members participated in the first two months of the pilot program, but that more had approached him expressing interest in it after Mr. Kirk’s assassination.

The monthly allotment lawmakers can spend under the pilot program was $5,000 during the first two months. It will be doubled to $10,000 for the next two as lawmakers negotiate a longer-term solution.

The Administration Committee leaders said Mr. Johnson and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, New York Democrat, approved the pilot program extension and doubling the monthly allotment.

In addition to the monthly allotment for personal security guards, members are allowed to spend up to $20,000 on residential security systems. The monthly allotment before the pilot program was $150 to cover maintenance and monitoring of those systems.

Separately, lawmakers agreed to add $30 million in the stopgap bill for the “mutual aid” program that lets Capitol Police reimburse local law enforcement and other partners for helping secure lawmakers, particularly when they’re outside Washington.

While Democrats support the security boost in the short-term spending bill, they oppose the broader measure because it does not contain other policies they’re seeking, such as an extension of enhanced Obamacare subsidies set to expire at the end of the year.

The Democrats released a counterproposal CR that includes the same $30 million for mutual aid as in the GOP plan, but also provides additional funding specifically for House and Senate security programs. They included $90 million for the House and $66.5 million for the Senate.