Congress approves $25M boost in security grants for Milwaukee RNC, Chicago DNC

WASHINGTON – Milwaukee and Chicago are officially set to receive $25 million increases to their federal security funding grants for the presidential nominating conventions this summer.

Congress this week approved the additional funding requests from state and federal lawmakers for the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee and the Democratic National Convention in Chicago as part of a spending package to fund part of the government through the fall.

Under the legislation, set to be signed into law Friday, Milwaukee is expected to receive a total of $75 million in federal grant money for security costs at the Republican National Convention, and Chicago will receive the same sum for the Democratic National Convention.

More: Milwaukee is gearing up to keep the RNC safe. Here's the equipment the city says it needs

The approval ends nearly a yearlong push from lawmakers in Wisconsin to secure the bump in funds for the host cities that came largely in response to rising costs. For about the past 20 years, convention host cities have received $50 million in grants to cover security costs. That sum has remained largely unchanged.

Wisconsin's entire congressional delegation in late March 2023 asked congressional appropriators for the supplemental funds for both conventions, claiming it has become "more difficult for host cities to absorb security costs in existing budgets and wait for federal reimbursement" as costs have risen over the years.

But that request went unaddressed as Congress struggled to pass its 12 government funding bills, opting instead to pass a series of stopgap measures that continued levels of funding at the previous year's levels. Members of Congress from both Wisconsin and Illinois renewed that request in January and asked for the funding to be tucked into the government's Commerce-Justice-Science spending bill.

Provisions for the additional money were ultimately written into that bill, which was itself included in a $460 billion package to fund about half the federal government through the end of September. The House passed the measure Wednesday on a 339-to-85 vote, and the Senate approved the measure on a 75-22 vote Friday night, averting a partial government shutdown that was set for midnight.

More: What to know about the delegates' hotels and protest prep, from organizers of the RNC

Congress must still pass a second package of funding bills by March 22 to dodge another shutdown threat.

"Milwaukee is proud to host the RNC, and I want to do everything I can to ensure the Convention is a safe and successful event," Rep. Gwen Moore, a Milwaukee Democrat, said Friday. "That’s why I was so excited that this appropriations package includes additional security funding for both nomination conventions."

While all 10 of Wisconsin's lawmakers on Capitol Hill have expressed support for the additional security funds, not everyone voted for the government funding package.

Rep. Tom Tiffany, a Republican who represents the state's northwestern 7th Congressional District and the only Wisconsin House member to oppose the measure, derided the bill for perpetuating "Biden administration policies and unsustainable spending that are making our neighborhoods less safe while piling more debt on to our children and grandchildren."

Republican Sen. Ron Johnson opposed the measure Friday. Speaking on the Senate floor hours before the vote, Johnson suggested wanted to add border amendments to the measure and read off recent incidents in which migrants had been accused in killings across the country.

Still, the funding is welcome news for both cities. The RNC in Milwaukee, set for July 15-18, is expected to draw thousands, and could see as many as 4,500 police officers from agencies outside of the city to assist. The DNC in Chicago is scheduled for Aug. 19-22.

"I fought hard to bring home this funding for our law enforcement and first responders because everyone in our state deserves to feel safe," Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin, who is up for reelection this year, said after the package's passage.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Congress approves $25M boost in security grants for RNC, DNC