WASHINGTON — Supreme Court justices are testifying before Congress for the first time in seven years on Tuesday, seeking additional funds to combat a rise in security threats.Subscribe to read this story ad-freeGet unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Liberal Justice Elena Kagan and conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett are appearing at back-to-back hearings in the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government and the Senate’s version of that committee.Supreme Court justices as well as judges throughout the federal judiciary have increasingly been the targets of threats, harassment and “swatting” incidents, in which false calls are made to police about violence at their home addresses.Barrett herself was the subject of a swatting incident in May.“For some of us, those threats have come very close, and all of us live with the knowledge that they may again materialize,” Kagan said in her opening remarks.But, she added, “all members of the Court continue to do their jobs as they believe legally right, adjudicating cases without fear or favor.”Rep.Dave Joyce, R-Ohio, who chairs the House subcommittee, acknowledged the increase in security concerns.“Whatever one’s view of the specific Supreme Court ruling, judicial officers, up to and including the justices of the Supreme Court, must be able to do their jobs without fear for their safety or their family’s safety,” he said.There appears to be bipartisan consensus; Rep.
Steny Hoyer, D-Md., the senior Democrat on the subcommittee, agreed with Joyce’s sentiment.“Congress must provide sufficient funding to ensure the safety of all judicial personnel,” he said.But Democrats have also been critical of the court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, for adopting a new ethics code that does not have an enforcement mechanism, saying that ethics lapses have contributed to a decline in public support for the institution.The court is asking for ...