Capitol Police ask Congress for nearly $1 billion to fund staff growth, threats response and new units
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Summary
The House Appropriations subcommittee heard testimony from Chief Manger as the United States Capitol Police requested about $967 million for fiscal 2026 to sustain staffing increases, new intelligence and training units, mutual aid and technology upgrades amid rising member threats.
The House Appropriations subcommittee on the Legislative Branch heard testimony Thursday as the United States Capitol Police requested roughly $967 million for fiscal year 2026 to fund continued staffing growth, new units and expanded operations.
Chief Manger, the chief of the United States Capitol Police, told the subcommittee the FY26 request is “substantial” and reflected the department’s expanded mission since 2021, including creation of a standalone intelligence services bureau, a protection intelligence operations center (PIAC), a residential security program and a rapid response team. He said the request includes about $687 million for salaries and benefits, $255 million for general expenses and $25 million in multiyear funding for the department’s mutual aid program.
Why it matters: The Capitol Police say their mission and workload have grown significantly since 2021, with spikes in threats to members of Congress and more requirements for member protective details, regional security, technical countermeasures and nationwide coordination. Committee members pressed the chief on staffing, overtime, training and how a full-year continuing resolution affected procurement and modernization plans.
Chief Manger said the department expects to reach approximately 2,530 sworn personnel by the end of FY26 and described the requested headcount as necessary to reach optimal staffing across uniformed operations, dignitary protection and special operations. He told the panel the department continues to rely on overtime while staffing levels remain below those optimal targets; training, large events and dignitary protection were singled out as major drivers of overtime costs.
Members asked for more detail on threat investigations and recruitment. Chief Manger said he did not have an exact count for FY24 “on the spot” but characterized the number of investigations that reached the criminal-threat threshold as “hundreds.” Ranking Member Espaillat and other members asked whether the FY26 request was inflated by the enactment of a full-year continuing resolution; Manger replied that the CR forced postponement of some equipment and vehicle purchases but that core protection responsibilities could not be delayed.
The chief described improvements in intelligence capabilities since 2021, calling the department “a very active member of the intelligence community” and pointing to PIAC as a fusion capability for threat intake and coordination. He said technical surveillance countermeasure inspections, member residential security assessments and other protective activities have increased “dramatically” in recent years (the transcript cites a nearly 400% increase in countermeasure inspections since 2021 and a 27% rise in member protective responsibilities since 2023).
Committee members pressed on mutual aid and coordination with state and local agencies. Manger said memoranda of understanding with state and local agencies have grown and that the department expects the number of such agreements to expand, allowing the Capitol Police to coordinate residential and event security in members’ home districts. He explicitly asked Congress to “renew the mutual aid funding.”
Representative questions also covered perimeter fencing for large events, screening equipment upgrades that use AI to assist x-ray detection, training capacity and retention incentives. Manger credited retention bonuses, student loan repayment and higher starting pay with reducing attrition. He also said the department completed a learning needs assessment for training, identified deficiencies in its training facility, and planned to expand its training staff and in-house expertise.
No formal committee votes were recorded during this hearing. The subcommittee chair opened the hearing, members asked questions in five-minute rounds, and the hearing concluded with members invited to submit additional questions for the record.
Ending: The subcommittee did not take action on the FY26 request during the hearing; members reserved further scrutiny for the regular appropriations process and for follow-up questions for the record.
