Bill would provide $25m more for embassy security
WASHINGTON (AP) — A spending bill written to fund the government through October would increase security at U.S. diplomatic facilities abroad.
Congressional summaries show that the bill provides $5.4 billion — about $25 million more than President Barack Obama has requested.
Money for embassy security is a sensitive issue because of the 2012 attack on a U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya, that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans. The State Department has complained that Congress ignored requests for increased security funding.
The bill includes money to implement recommendations of a review board that investigated the Benghazi attack.
It also includes money to improve security at temporary U.S. diplomatic facilities and directs the State Department to re-evaluate the cost-benefit of a continuing presence in Basrah, Iraq.
