House Sergeant at Arms William Walker has recently developed a new program in which each House lawmaker is provided up to $10,000 to bolster their security systems at their personal residence.
The funds will cover the cost of purchasing and installing security equipment, including motion sensors, door locks and cameras. They will also cover up to $150 for the monthly costs of maintenance and monitoring.
Walker’s office confirmed the program to TPM on Tuesday.
The officer announced the initiative in a letter to lawmakers on Monday, according to the Hill.
“The Sergeant at Arms (SAA) will assume the cost of and oversee certain future residential security upgrades, maintenance, and monthly monitoring fees,” Walker wrote, per a copy of the notice obtained by the Hill and the Washington Examiner. “This program will strengthen the security of Members of the House of Representatives and their families.”
The program will begin on Aug. 15, according to the Hill and the Washington Examiner.
Walker’s initiative comes as lawmakers face a troubling surge in threats. In fact, there’ve been several incidents just this month.
On July 10, a man was arrested outside of Rep. Pramila Jayapal’s (D-WA) home, where he was allegedly shouting death threats and racist diatribes against the congresswoman, who was born in India.
A man allegedly carrying a sharp weapon attacked Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) on stage as the GOP lawmaker was holding a campaign event for his New York gubernatorial bid last Friday. The man has been charged with second degree attempted assault (Zeldin was uninjured).
Several days before the incident at Jayapal’s home, Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) –- one of the only two Republicans on the House Jan. 6 Committee –- posted audio recordings of the graphic threats against the congressman and his family that his office has received recently.
