Who pays for protection of lawmakers? Rep. Al Green breaks down the taxpayer burden

And welcome back to The Factor Uncensored. The question is, how much do you think it costs to protect a member of Congress if they're facing multiple threats? Maybe $1,000 a month? How about $5,000 a month? Not right. We're talking about $20,000 a month for a single member of Congress after they face multiple threats. We learned this information after sitting down with Houston Congressman Al Green, when he received a suspicious package at his office. Let's talk about it tonight. And joining us now is Congressman Al Green, where you received a mysterious envelope with a substance that you guys could not identify at your office. Tell us a little bit about that and what happened today. Well, thank you for having me. And I'm pleased to talk about this because it impacts all of us. We received what we call a suspicious envelope in the office, and by the way, the Congress people don't open the mail. So we want people to know that if you're trying to somehow get to the Congress person, it doesn't work that way. There are people who are innocent, who work in the office, and they do this. So the person who opens the mail, he received it, and we have a special device that we open the mail in. He places it in, and while it's in there, he then feels it. And as he was feeling it, it felt granular. There was something inside. So he decided to shake it and kind of move it around. And sure enough, it proved to be something that was movable, sort of like sand. So we immediately... Like sand, but you don't know it was sand. No, we don't know what it is because we immediately called the Capitol Police. And after talking to the Capitol Police, they indicated, of course, that we should call the local police. We called the local police. The local police came out. The fire department came out. the health department came out, the FBI came out, and the Capitol Police was involved with all of this. So if somebody thinks this is a joke, it's not funny. It's not. It's very serious because of the way it impacts lives and the flow of work. All of these people could have been someplace else assuming it's a joke. Now, if it isn't a joke, then we've got another problem that's even more serious because that person should be captured and should be punished to the fullest extent that the law allows and clearly you know you've made some enemies as a result of calling for the President Donald Trump's impeachment also confronting him in the State of the Union um has that taken a toll on your office obviously you're standing up for what you feel and believe is right and appropriate from your perspective but has that taken a toll on maybe you and your staff with with the response possibly like you said hate death threats calls There has to be some degree of consternation, but not intimidation. The staff has been very good about not allowing themselves to be intimidated. And I'm very proud of the staff that I have. They are hardworking people. They work very long hours. They work on holidays. We never close. People call us at odd hours and we answer the phone. So I'm very proud of the office. But I'm also concerned not just about my office, but about offices in the public space in general, because at some point, even though this may not be something harmful, there can be. And we have to take each one seriously. And somebody could end up losing some degree of health that might be terminal. Are you ever surprised at the amount of hate that you get as a result of doing the people's business, as a result of politics? Because in many instances, some of the things I've heard that you've gone through, it crosses the line of reason, you know, of logic that people could be that hateful, that angry with you for standing up for what you believe. Well, I am concerned. I have to be candid with you. I'm concerned. I'm not intimidated to the extent that I will cease to do what I believe to be not just the right thing, but the righteous thing. I do believe we have to do this. But here's my great concern. Currently, I get $20,000 a month for my security. What does that look like for those who may be wondering? That looks like officers with me in the office, officers with me when I'm out in public spaces where I'm with a lot of people. Do you have one here now? Well, I didn't tell anybody I was coming. By the time you get here, you'll be long gone. But I do have two people with me. There are some places where I feel comfortable here. You have great security here. And so once I traverse and I make it to your parking lot, your people are very good. So I'm okay. But with that $20,000 a month, if I'm out in some public space where I'm concerned, we can have security. When I've been in parades, I've had to wear some sort of jacket to protect me. They call them a vest with bulletproof paraphernalia associated with them. I wear that sometimes. And once I had to have Texas Rangers out with me as I was in a parade. But I still have to go out to the parade. I can't allow that to push me off the streets and away from the public. So my concern, though, Isaiah, is this. I get this $20,000 for security now. I will not get this after I leave office. So I'm going to have to be more concerned about where I go. I'm going to have to pay for security out of my personal expenses if I decide to do it. and that causes me concern it really does and are you aware of any other lawmakers who may be in congress where and and obviously your life your safety priority number one but when you think about that amount that's like a quarter of a million dollars a year because of the hate that's out there because of the threats that you may be may get are there other members of congress who May have to go through the same thing. Oh, there are some that do. And the same amount as well? Yes, we all, those who want to take it can. Maxine Waters had someone convicted just recently. I didn't say she had, but the person was convicted for threatening her. So these things happen quite often. And I don't want to call others' names. Maxine and I are very good friends, and it's been widely published that this happened. because there are many members who don't want to mention it in the public sphere because they are copycats and there are people who will pick up on it and they'll do things. I take the opposite position. I think we ought to let people know what's happening to us. The public, I think, should receive the kind of transparency that it merits so that it can understand what public officials have to endure to do the jobs that they've been elected to do. So I'm going to tell when these things happen. And I've exposed a lot of the ugly things and you've been a part of helping to get that exposure out there in terms of what people say they'll do with my cane and how they would like to extend my neck, those kinds of things. And I'm being very polite in the way that I say these things. But there are things that can cause a lot of consternation but should not cause the fear to envelop one such that you cease to do the righteous things that are required to make the world a better place. and there you have it twenty thousand dollars a month for security now this is part of a trend we're seeing several members of congress across the country have received these suspicious mail mails in in their mailboxes at their offices including our very own u.s senator ted cruz right here in houston we'll be back with more Fact Check on sensor in just a moment