Letter to the Honorable Rodney P. Frelinghuysen and the Honorable Nita Lowey, Committee on Appropriations Chairman and Ranking Member, and the Honorable John Culberson and Jose Serrano, Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and Science Chairman and Ranking Member - Presidential Protection Cost Reimbursement

Letter

Dear Chairman Frelinghuysen, Ranking Member Lowey, Chairman Culberson and Ranking Member Serrano:

We write to express strong support for fully reimbursing the City of New York for costs incurred to protect then President-elect Donald Trump and his family between Election Day and Inauguration Day. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) has calculated and shared with Congress that the exact cost associated with Mr. Trump's protection during this time period was $25.7 million (letter attached). As you know, the Continuing Resolution passed on December 9, 2016 included $7 million for City reimbursement. We strongly urge you to include the outstanding amount of the total in the next funding bill for the remainder of FY2017.

The $25.7 million to secure Trump Tower and the first family includes $24 million spent by the NYPD and $1.7 million spent by the New York City Fire Department (FDNY). The amount was calculated after thorough review of payroll and overtime records and more than 25,000 service logs.

The scale of the security needs to secure Trump Tower in the heart of midtown Manhattan is unprecedented, and the NYPD has done an outstanding job, in cooperation with the Secret Service, of devoting the personnel and resources necessary to protect and properly secure the area. We understand that other localities have been able to recover costs associated with protecting Presidents-elect. For example, the City of Chicago was reimbursed for the costs of protecting President-elect Obama by the Department of Justice, as was Kennebunkport, ME for the protection of President George H.W. Bush. And Washington, DC is routinely reimbursed for some security costs associated with the inauguration. Based on this past precedent, we believe it is only fair that New York City be fully compensated for providing security for President-elect Trump and the future first family. New York City should not have to wait any longer for the reimbursement it is due.

We are also concerned with covering the costs for security for President Trump and his family in the future. The prominence of Trump Tower requires protection operations there 24 hours a day, regardless of where the President is. New York City has provided estimates of the costs for security in and around Trump Tower for the days following January 20, 2017 when President Trump took office and going forward. Even after Inauguration Day, there are still significant security costs for which the federal government should be responsible. For every day President Trump is in New York City, it costs the NYPD $308,000. When President Trump is not in New York City, it costs the NYPD up to $146,000 per day. The FDNY estimates that its security costs will total $4.5 million per year. This data shows the need for a reliable source of federal funding for New York City throughout President Trump's time in office.

In addition to providing the full $25.7 million in reimbursement to New York City, we ask that you ensure that sufficient funding is designated and available for future costs associated with President Trump's protection in New York City. There should be no uncertainty that the federal government will cover these national security costs.

Thank you for your consideration of this matter, and we look forward to working with you to resolve this critical issue.

Sincerely,