House spending bill adds $2B for embassy security post-Benghazi

House appropriators on Monday unveiled a spending bill that increases funding for embassy security by $2 billion in the wake of last year's attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

An independent State Department review of the attack called for a “more serious and sustained commitment from Congress” to address security deficiencies at high-risk posts around the world. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans died in the attack.

The State Department and foreign operations provision “supports the full fiscal year 2013 request and increased security needs identified after the Benghazi attack,” according to a statement from the House Appropriations Committee.

It also requires the administration to tell Congress what its security needs are and what the new additional money would fund. The bill is expected to clear the House this week; the Senate could take up its own spending bill later this week or next.

“The Secretary of State shall submit a report to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate providing an assessment of security requirements at United States diplomatic facilities abroad, a comprehensive plan for addressing such requirements, and a detailed description of embassy security improvements to be supported from funds made available under this section,” the bill says. “Such report shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex if appropriate.”

The $982 billion bill would fund the government through the end of fiscal year 2013 on Sept. 30, and prevent a government shutdown after March 27, when the current spending bill runs out.

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