The Secret Service wants Congress to give it $1 billion for security but says only $220 million of it would be spent on the White House ballroom project.
The Secret Service is now clarifying that the $220 million would be spent on “the above and below ground hardening requirements of the East Wing Modernization Project,” with the remainder of its $1 billion funding request intended for other security, technology and training needs, according to the spending justification the agency provided to Congress on Tuesday.
The justification, obtained by The Washington Times, said the hardening will include bulletproof glass, drone-detection technologies, chemical and other threat filtration and detection systems, and other national security features.
“Importantly, as the legislative text makes explicit, none of these funds will be used to support non-security improvements at the White House,” the Secret Service said.
Senate Republicans included $1 billion for the Secret Service in a $72 billion filibuster-proof budget reconciliation package designed primarily to fund immigration enforcement agencies.
The $1 billion request has drawn scrutiny because President Trump previously estimated the ballroom’s construction cost at $400 million and pledged to cover it through private donations.
Senate Republicans left a lunch meeting in which Secret Service Director Sean M. Curran broke down the $1 billion request. Republicans emerged from the meeting insisting that the ballroom itself still be funded with private donations.
“The ballroom is being financed privately, but the security associated with it represents about 20% of what this request was,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, South Dakota Republican.
The Republican bill, however, focuses on that 20%. It says the $1 billion is for “security adjustments and upgrades, including within the perimeter fence of the White House Compound to support enhancements by the United States Secret Service relating to the East Wing Modernization Project, including above-ground and below-ground security features.”
The East Wing Modernization Project is the formal name for the demolition and reconstruction of the part of the White House that will house a new 22,000-square-foot ballroom seating 1,000 guests, a new office suite for the first lady and a replacement movie theater.
Some senators suggested the language may be rewritten as the bill moves through committees ahead of the Friday deadline.
The Secret Service’s justification breaks down the $1 billion into six buckets:
• $220 million for security features of the East Wing project.
• $180 million for a new White House visitor screening facility.
• $175 million for training Secret Service agents “in the modern threat environment,” including updating the agency’s training facilities.
• $175 million to improve security for Secret Service protectees, including at “frequently visited venues facing heightened risk due to their public visibility and static nature.”
• $150 million for the Secret Service Special Operations Division to invest in state-of-the-art technologies to counter drones, airspace incursions, unmanned systems and biological threats.
• $100 million for increased security at high-profile national events that require significant planning, specialized training and extra assets.
Although some Republican senators seemed satisfied with Mr. Curran’s explanation, others wanted more detail.
“I’ve asked for a lot more data,” said Sen. Susan M. Collins, Maine Republican.
Ms. Collins, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, said the Secret Service should have presented Congress with the funding needs earlier.
“If there are some needs for new training arrangements, for example, that should have been in the president’s budget,” she said.
Sen. John Curtis, Utah Republican, told reporters ahead of the lunch that the $1 billion sounded like a made-up number.
“I want to see data, if it’s really for extra security,” he said.
After lunch, Mr. Curtis said he received enough answers and would still like to see “more specifics.”
Senators asking for more details on how the money would be spent said they are still supportive of the general need to enhance security for the president and other Secret Service protectees in light of rising threats, such as the assassination attempt at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner last month.
“I want the president to be safe. I don’t care who the president is,” said Sen. Rick Scott, Florida Republican. “But our job is oversight.”
Sen. John Kennedy, Louisiana Republican, said one of the biggest concerns is the security funding adding to the deficit. He said he is drafting an amendment to offset the Secret Service funding by reducing spending elsewhere in the bill by $1 billion.
Mr. Thune wants to pass the budget reconciliation measure through the Senate before Memorial Day.
He said funding Secret Service and immigration enforcement needs through the budget reconciliation process is “not normal” but necessary, “given the obstruction that the Democrats imposed in their unwillingness to fund law enforcement.”
Democrats are highlighting the money for the White House ballroom as evidence of Republicans’ misplaced priorities and plan to offer amendments to the bill to redirect the funds toward helping Americans afford health care, housing and other costs.
“These ballroom Republicans are choosing Trump’s chandelier over your child care, Trump’s ego over your electric bill, Trump’s palace over the people’s priorities,” said Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat.
• Susan Ferrechio contributed to this report.
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