[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 132 (Tuesday, September 16, 2014)]
[House]
[Page H7538]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
MILITARIZATION
(Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia asked and was given permission to address the
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge this House
to stop the free flow of excess Defense Department military weapons and
equipment to local law enforcement.
Our neighborhoods need to be protected, but Americans oppose blurring
the line between the police and military. When law enforcement uses
military MRAPs on Main Street, that changes the relationship with the
public.
Our country is not a war zone, and it should not feel like one. That
is why Representative Raul Labrador and myself are introducing the Stop
Militarizing Law Enforcement Act. This is a commonsense and bipartisan
bill to reform the Department of Defense 1033 program to stop the free
flow of this equipment from foreign battlefields directly to the
streets of America.
I urge all of my colleagues to support this bill.
____________________