Hagerty-Warner emergency funding bill to protect U.S. Supreme Court Justices passes Senate
Published 3:43 pm Thursday, June 23, 2022
- Contributed Photo U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty.
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United States Senators Bill Hagerty (R-TN), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Mark Warner (D-VA), Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, secured passage of their bipartisan legislation that provides an additional $10.3 million to the U.S. Marshals Service and $9.1 million to the U.S. Supreme Court to address the unprecedented, current security threats to the justices, their families, and court employees.
The legislation passed the Senate by unanimous consent.
“I appreciate the partnership of Senator Warner in this important effort to provide much-needed resources to protect one of our three branches of government that is facing unprecedented threats,” said Senator Hagerty. “It is regretful that this emergency funding is needed, but I commend the Senate for providing these resources. It is imperative that the House of Representatives follow suit as quickly as possible.”
“This money will go to paying officers’ overtime, purchasing physical security measures, and covering other much-needed security costs to protect the Court,” said Senator Warner. “I am glad to work with Senator Hagerty on this important effort.”
The U.S. Marshals Service continues to provide around-the-clock security for the nine Justices at their homes and has requested additional funding for costs that have been and will be incurred to provide this protection for the rest of Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22). Similarly, the Supreme Court requested additional resources to cover its unexpected, increased security costs.
Hagerty and Warner used a House-passed legislative vehicle — H.R. 4346, which sought to make appropriations for the Legislative Branch for FY22 but was rendered moot by the FY2022 Consolidated Appropriations Act — and substituted the text of their bill. By using this vehicle, Hagerty and Warner avoid a potential blue-slip issue in the House of Representatives and allow the House to immediately pass this bill.
