The House Select Committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the United States Capitol has spent more than $3 million so far this year, Jake Sherman and John Bresnahan of Punchbowl News report, based on recently released quarterly disbursement records.
The exact total: $3,317,373.81, the vast majority of which has gone toward personnel.
The committee reportedly employs 57 people and paid $1.6 million in compensation last quarter. “Compare that to the House Judiciary Committee, a permanent standing committee which includes staffers from both parties,” Sherman and Bresnahan write. “Judiciary spent $1.8 million on staffing during the same period.”
The House Ways and Means Committee, for additional context, spent more than $2.5 million last quarter and $4.8 million so far this year.
The January 6 committee reportedly also has spent more than $600,000 in each of the last two quarters on outside consultants and services such as transcription, digital forensics and private investigators.
The committee, which Punchbowl says may be “the most expansive investigation in congressional history,” is expected to hold another hearing this month. Punchbowl reports it will hold a retreat next week to discuss its next steps.
The bottom line: The committee’s operations and expenses may be sizeable, but protecting U.S. democracy is priceless.
