[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 13 (Tuesday, January 27, 2015)]
[House]
[Page H622]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


         DEFENSE DEPARTMENT WEAPONS FUNNELED TO LAW ENFORCEMENT

  (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, the Republican border bill, 
originally scheduled for this week, contains a provision buried on page 
78 that would expand the Pentagon's 1033 program. This program 
transfers billions of dollars of Defense Department equipment to law 
enforcement agencies without any congressional oversight or community 
input. The bill adds a border securities activities priority to the 
program that will quietly funnel military-grade weapons to law 
enforcement for this new, fully defined priority.
  It appears some of my colleagues did not learn the tragic lessons of 
Ferguson, Missouri, last summer as the Nation saw the devastating 
result of a militarized police force. If this bill is brought back up, 
I urge my colleagues to support my amendment in order to curb the 
expansion of this program.

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