Senate Passes Bill to Improve Embassy Security
Will allow State Department to transfer $1.1 billion for that purpose
The Senate on Monday approved legislation that would allow the State Department to transfer $1.1 billion to improve security at U.S. embassies overseas in the aftermath of the deadly assault on the U.S. Consulate in Libya last September.
By voice vote, the Senate passed the bipartisan measure that would give the department the authority to use surplus funds that are no longer needed in Iraq, where the United States has scaled back operations. The bill now goes to the House.
"Hardening our embassy security is something that everyone agrees is needed," said Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., sponsor of the bill and chairman of the Appropriations subcommittee that oversees foreign operations. "We all want to do what we can to prevent another tragedy like what occurred in Benghazi. The State Department has done a review, and these funds will be used to expedite construction of Marine security guard posts at overseas facilities, and to build secure embassies."
Hide Comments (0)
Editor's Note: As of February 29, 2024, commenting privileges on reason.com posts are limited to Reason Plus subscribers. Past commenters are grandfathered in for a temporary period. Subscribe here to preserve your ability to comment. Your Reason Plus subscription also gives you an ad-free version of reason.com, along with full access to the digital edition and archives of Reason magazine. We request that comments be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment and ban commenters for any reason at any time. Comments may only be edited within 5 minutes of posting. Report abuses.
Please
to post commentsMute this user?
Ban this user?
Un-ban this user?
Nuke this user?
Un-nuke this user?
Flag this comment?
Un-flag this comment?