A bill to overhaul the U.S. Secret Service after series of high-profile missteps has overwhelmingly passed the House.
The bipartisan bill was approved on a 365-16 vote. It now moves on to the Senate.
The measure requires the agency to use updated technology and increase training for agents. It also authorizes the agency to hire more agents to boost security. The agency has already added 7-inch spikes to the top of the White House fence until other security measures can be approved an implemented
The security upgrades began after a series of security breaches that cost former Secret Service Director Julia Pierson her job in October and led to House investigations into the agency’s operations.
A particularly alarming incident occurred in September, when a 42-year-old Army veteran ran past Secret Service officers and made it into the White House before being tackled.
One month later, a 23-year-old Maryland man was arrested after he, too, climbed the White House fence — though he didn’t reach the building, and was taken down by Secret Service dogs.
And in April, a California man scaled the White House fence but was apprehended after just a few steps as Secret Service dogs approached him.
