Feud over budget for diplomatic security escalates

Tuesday January 22, 2013 4:15 PM

By RICHARD LARDNER

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — A long-running feud over whether Congress provides enough money for protecting U.S. diplomats is heating up.

The chairman of a Senate subcommittee charged Tuesday that House Republicans sank embassy security funds in stripping a $1 billion measure sought by the State Department from a hurricane relief bill.

Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont made the accusation on the eve of departing Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's overdue appearance before congressional committees.

Clinton is set to testify on Wednesday about the Obama administration's handling of the September terrorist assault on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

Democrats have blamed Republicans for cutting diplomatic security spending. The GOP has argued that management failures were the reasons U.S. officials failed to see the threat.

©2013 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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