House Passes Bill Increasing Protection for Presidential, VP Candidates

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Facts

  • The US House on Friday voted 405-0 for a bill requiring the Secret Service to devote as many resources to protecting major-party presidential candidates as they use to protect presidents and vice presidents.[1]
  • The bipartisan bill, which was introduced by House members from New York and New Jersey, is separate from a bill being worked on to increase the Secret Service's funding before an Oct. 1 deadline.[2]
  • Funding and usage of the Secret Service have become a front-burner issue since two attempts were made on former Pres. Donald Trump's life. In July, a gunman opened fire at the Republican nominee's rally in Pennsylvania, and this month, the Secret Service found a gunman hiding in a wooded area near Trump's Florida golf course.[3]
  • Earlier this week, Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe told reporters that Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, have had 'the highest levels of protection' possible since the first attempt on Trump's life.[3]
  • The bill must be approved by the Senate and signed by Pres. Joe Biden in order to take effect.[4]

Sources: [1]Associated Press, [2]CBS, [3]The Hill and [4]FOX News.

Narratives

  • Democratic narrative, as provided by CNN. It's reassuring that the Republican-led House was able to come together to codify the raised standards of security Pres. Joe Biden already implemented with the Secret Service. Trump and Harris are each being protected to the best of the Secret Services' ability. Next, the Secret Service needs more funding to make sure it can do the best job possible. That means it's up to the GOP leaders in the House to get a funding bill passed.
  • Republican narrative, as provided by Breitbart. Before the Secret Service receives more funding, it must show it's capable of doing its job, including keeping members of Congress in the loop. But so far, the Secret Service has joined the FBI in slow-walking the investigation into the first assassination attempt on Trump. Either this is incompetence, or the agency is trying to hide something from Congress. Transparency must come before additional funds are allocated.

Predictions