House Expected To Vote On Bill Covering $7 Million Of NYC Trump Security Costs
WASHINGTON (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The House is expected to vote as soon as Thursday on a bill that includes federal reimbursement to the city for part of the cost of protection President-Elect Donald Trump.
Mayor Bill De Blasio wanted up to $35 million for police overtime and other costs of safeguarding Trump from Election Day to his Jan. 20 inauguration. But stopgap spending legislation unveiled Tuesday in the Republican-led Congress includes $7 million.
"New York City taxpayers should not be on the hook for 80 percent of the national bill'' to protect Trump and his family, Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement calling for Congress to "step up'' in coming months.
Since Trump won the Nov. 8 election, security around Trump Tower has been stepped up to extraordinary levels. The NYPD has played a major role, along with the Secret Service and Trump's private security personnel.
The tower is now safeguarded by a phalanx of city police officers armed with assault weapons, bomb-sniffing dogs and concrete barriers. Police have closed some lanes on Fifth Avenue, barricaded the block where Trump Tower residents have a private entrance and set up checkpoints manned by officers in guard booths.
City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito called the $7 million proposal "outrageous.'' Congressional Democrats from New York have also complained, including Rep. Nydia Velazquez, who said Wednesday that "Republicans in Congress have abdicated this basic responsibility'' of protecting the president-elect in an area so busy that 7,000 pedestrians per hour pass by.
But Long Island Rep. Peter King, who also says the city deserves the $35 million reimbursement, said that the city's request was a bit late.
"I do fault the de Blasio administration for not making the request until literally the last moment and not providing details," King told WCBS 880's Rich Lamb. "When you're dealing with congress, most of whom are not from New York, they look for an excuse not to give New York the money it needs."
Similar reimbursements have been made in the past for large-scale events such as Pope Francis' visit to the city last year.
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