Capitol Hill operates in two modes: outrage and “asleep at the switch.”
In a prime example of the latter, lawmakers in D.C. have hit the snooze button while the very people who protect them plead for funding. .
As RollCall reported, a fiscal year boost for the U.S. Capitol Police isn’t stretching far enough, as the force is still in dire need of more officers to handle the challenges of the upcoming presidential election, a recently reopened Capitol and growing threats against members, according to Chief J. Thomas Manger.
Manger testified this week before the Senate Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee and made a plea for more funding to let the department add to its staff. Its $840.9 million fiscal 2024 request is a more than 14% increase over enacted fiscal 2023 funding. Much of that money would go toward hiring and retention, Manger said.
It’s a problem facing many police departments across the country as they struggle with massive staffing shortages.
There have been consequences. Former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki noted last year that a surge in crime since the pandemic is partly the result of underfunding police departments. As National Review reported, Psaki claimed President Biden was working to focus federal law enforcement resources on fighting violent crime and put “unprecedented” levels of funding toward rescue plans to fund more officers in cities.
Yet here we are, with police officers stretched to their limit.
“We still are forcing officers to work overtime that they wouldn’t necessarily volunteer for,” Manger said. “We’re holding them over at the end of their shifts. We’re canceling days off to make sure we have enough folks for a particular event.”
While high attrition rates impact departments around the U.S., the Capitol Police had an especially jarring catalyst. In the wake of the Jan. 6 attack, the Capitol Police experienced record levels of attrition. Capitol Police lost between 140 and 150 officers from Jan. 6, 2021, to Jan. 6, 2022. At one point in 2022, the department was 300 officers short of what he said was necessary.
“There’s one big reason that we’re facing the attrition that we’re facing, and that is that officers are being burnt out,” Manger said.
He noted that threats against those on Capitol Hill are up approximately 400% over the last six years.
These are polarized, and dangerous times in D.C. Lawmakers can’t complain about threats to themselves and their families without loosening the purse strings to fund the Capitol Police. The budget request includes money to expand threat investigation capabilities and enhance security operations for members and their families in D.C. and in their home districts and to bolster security at national political conventions.
“We must be adequately staffed to handle these events. We are not currently,” Manger said.
This should be a no-brainer. Regardless of the view some pols may have of the police, not giving departments the funding they need to keep Capitol Hill – and local communities – safe is just criminal.
