Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., arrives to meet with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., before an event to promote investments in clean jobs, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, July 28, 2021.
The U.S. Capitol is seen as people walking on the sidewalk with a fence, in Washington, Thursday, July 22, 2021. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., discussed with reporters her reasons for rejecting two Republicans chosen by House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy to be on the committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection.
WASHINGTON (AP) — An emergency spending bill passed by the Senate 98-0 on Thursday would bolster security at the Capitol and repay outstanding debts from the Jan. 6 insurrection. The $2.1 billion bill would also increase the number of visas for allies who worked alongside Americans in the Afghanistan war.
Democrats and Republicans struck an agreement on the legislation this week, saying the money is urgently needed for the Capitol Police and for the translators and others who worked closely with U.S. government troops and civilians in Afghanistan.
The bill loosens some requirements for the visas, which lawmakers say are especially pressing as the U.S. military withdrawal enters its final weeks and Afghan allies face possible retaliation from the Taliban.
The House is expected to vote on the legislation in the coming days and send it to President Joe Biden.
The money for the Capitol — including for police salaries, the National Guard and to better secure windows and doors around the building — comes more than six months after the violent insurrection by former President Donald Trump’s supporters and is scaled back from a House-passed bill and previous Democratic proposals.
Democrats have said that if Congress doesn’t pass the bill, money would start running out for officers’ salaries by August and that the National Guard might have to cancel some training programs.
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