[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 115 (Thursday, July 11, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4672-S4674]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 2343. Mr. SCHATZ submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
him to the bill S. 4638, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2025 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At end of subtitle F of title III, add the following:
SEC. 358. REFORM AND OVERSIGHT OF DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
TRANSFER OF PERSONAL PROPERTY TO LAW
ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES AND OTHER ENTITIES.
(a) In General.--Section 2576a of title 10, United States
Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) in paragraph (1), in the matter preceding subparagraph
(A), by striking ``subsection (b)'' and inserting ``the
provisions of this section''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(3) The Secretary may transfer non-controlled property to
nonprofit organizations involved in humanitarian response or
first responder activities.'';
(2) in subsection (b)--
(A) in paragraph (5), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(B) in paragraph (6), by striking the period at the end and
inserting ``, and provides a description of the training
courses;''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(7) the recipient, on an annual basis, certifies that if
the recipient determines that any controlled property
received is surplus to the needs of the recipient, the
recipient will return the property to the Department of
Defense;
``(8) the recipient, when requisitioning property, submits
to the Department of Defense a justification for why the
recipient needs the property and a description of the
expected uses of the property;
``(9) with respect to a recipient that is not a Federal
agency, the recipient certifies annually to the Department of
Defense that the recipient has notified the local community
of its participation in the program under this section by--
``(A) publishing a notice of such participation on a
publicly accessible internet website, including information
on how members of the local community can track property
requested or received by the recipient on the website of the
Department of Defense;
``(B) posting such notice at several prominent locations in
the jurisdiction of the recipient; and
``(C) ensuring that such notices were available to the
local community for a period of not less than 30 days;
``(10) with respect to a recipient that is a local law
enforcement agency, the recipient publishes a notice on a
publicly accessible internet website and at several prominent
locations in the jurisdiction of the recipient of the
approval of the city council or other local governing body to
acquire the property sought under this section; and
``(11) with respect to a recipient that is a State law
enforcement agency, the recipient publishes a notice on a
publicly accessible internet website and at several prominent
locations in the jurisdiction of the recipient of the
approval of the appropriate State governing body to acquire
the property sought under this section.'';
(3) in subsection (e), by adding at the end the following:
``(5) Grenade launchers.
``(6) Explosives (unless used for explosive detection
canine training).
``(7) Firearms of .50 caliber or higher.
``(8) Ammunition of 0.5 caliber or higher.
``(9) Asphyxiating gases, including those comprised of
lachrymatory agents, and analogous liquids, materials, or
devices.
``(10) Silencers.
``(11) Long-range acoustic devices.''; and
(4) by striking subsections (f) and (g) and inserting the
following:
``(f) Limitations on Transfers.--(1) The prohibitions under
subsection (e) shall also apply with respect to the transfer
of previously transferred property of the Department of
Defense from a Federal or State agency to another such
agency.
``(2) Each year, the Attorney General shall--
``(A) review all recipients of transferred equipment under
this section; and
``(B) make recommendations to the Secretary on recipients
that should be restricted, suspended, or terminated from the
program under this section based on the findings of the
Attorney General, including a finding that a recipient used
equipment to conduct actions against individuals that
infringe upon their rights under the First Amendment to the
Constitution of the United States.
``(3) In the case of a recipient that is under
investigation for a violation of, or is subject to a consent
decree authorized by, section 210401 of the Violent Crime
Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12601),
the Attorney General shall provide a recommendation to the
Secretary with respect to the continued participation of the
recipient in the program under this section.
``(g) Annual Certification Accounting for Transferred
Property.--(1) For each fiscal year, the Secretary shall
submit to Congress certification in writing that each State
or local agency to which the Secretary has transferred
personal property under this section--
``(A) has provided to the Secretary documentation
accounting for all controlled property, including arms, that
the Secretary has transferred to the agency, including any
item described in subsection (e) so transferred before the
date of enactment of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (Public Law
116-283; 134 Stat. 3388); and
``(B) has carried out each of paragraphs (5) through (9) of
subsection (b).
``(2) If the Secretary cannot provide a certification under
paragraph (1) for a State or local agency, the Secretary may
not transfer additional property to that agency under this
section.
``(h) Conditions for Extension of Program.--Notwithstanding
any other provision of law, amounts authorized to be
appropriated or otherwise made available for any fiscal year
may not be obligated or expended to carry out this section
unless the Secretary submits to the appropriate committees of
Congress a certification, for the preceding fiscal year,
that--
``(1) each non-Federal agency that has received personal
property under this section has--
``(A) demonstrated full and complete accountability for all
such property, in accordance with paragraph (2); or
``(B) been suspended or terminated from the program
pursuant to paragraph (3);
``(2) the State Coordinator responsible for each non-
Federal agency that has received property under this section
has verified that--
``(A) the State Coordinator or an agent of the State
Coordinator has conducted an inventory of the property
transferred to the agency; and
``(B)(i) all property transferred to the agency was
accounted for during the inventory described in subparagraph
(A); or
``(ii) the agency has been suspended or terminated from the
program pursuant to paragraph (3);
``(3) with respect to any non-Federal agency that has
received property under this section for which all of such
property was not accounted for during an inventory described
in paragraph (2), the eligibility of the agency to receive
property transferred under this section has been suspended or
terminated; and
``(4) each State Coordinator has certified, for each non-
Federal agency located in the State for which the State
Coordinator is responsible, that--
[[Page S4673]]
``(A) the agency has complied with all requirements under
this section; or
``(B) the eligibility of the agency to receive property
transferred under this section has been suspended or
terminated.
``(i) Annual Certification Accounting for Transferred
Property.--(1) The Secretary shall submit to the appropriate
committees of Congress each year a certification in writing
that each recipient to which the Secretary has transferred
personal property under this section during the preceding
fiscal year--
``(A) has provided to the Secretary documentation
accounting for all property the Secretary has previously
transferred to such recipient under this section; and
``(B) has complied with paragraphs (5) and (6) of
subsection (b) with respect to the property so transferred
during such fiscal year.
``(2) If the Secretary cannot provide a certification under
paragraph (1) for a recipient, the Secretary may not transfer
additional property to such recipient under this section,
effective as of the date on which the Secretary would
otherwise make the certification under this subsection, and
such recipient shall be suspended or terminated from further
receipt of property under this section.
``(j) Reports to Congress.--Not later than 30 days after
the last day of a fiscal year, the Secretary shall submit to
Congress a report on the following for the preceding fiscal
year:
``(1) The percentage of equipment lost by recipients of
property transferred under this section, including specific
information about the type of property lost, the monetary
value of such property, and the recipient that lost the
property.
``(2) The transfer of items under this section classified
under Supply Condition Code A, including specific information
about the type of property, the recipient of the property,
the original acquisition value of each item of the property,
and the total original acquisition of all such property
transferred during the fiscal year.
``(k) Publicly Accessible Website on Transferred Controlled
Property.--(1) The Secretary shall create, maintain, and
update on a quarterly basis a publicly available internet
website that provides information, in a searchable format, on
the controlled property transferred under this section and
the recipients of such property.
``(2) The contents of the internet website required under
paragraph (1) shall include all publicly accessible
unclassified information pertaining to the request, transfer,
denial, and repossession of controlled property under this
section, including--
``(A) a current inventory of all controlled property
transferred to Federal and State agencies under this section,
listed by--
``(i) the name of the Federal agency, or the State, county,
and recipient agency;
``(ii) the item name, item type, and item model;
``(iii) the date on which such property was transferred;
and
``(iv) the current status of such item;
``(B) all pending requests for transfers of controlled
property under this section, including the information
submitted by the Federal and State agencies requesting such
transfers;
``(C) a list of each agency suspended or terminated from
further receipt of property under this section, including any
State, county, or local agency, and the reason for and
duration of such suspension or termination; and
``(D) all reports required to be submitted to the Secretary
under this section by Federal and State agencies that receive
controlled property under this section.
``(l) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) The term `agent of a State Coordinator' means any
individual to whom a State Coordinator formally delegates
responsibilities for the duties of the State Coordinator to
conduct inventories described in subsection (h)(2).
``(2) The term `appropriate committees of Congress' means--
``(A) the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and
``(B) the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on
Oversight and Reform of the House of Representatives.
``(3) The term `controlled property' means any item
assigned a demilitarization code of B, C, D, E, G, or Q under
Department of Defense Manual 4160.21-M, `Defense Materiel
Disposition Manual', or any successor document.
``(4) The term `State Coordinator', with respect to a
State, means the individual appointed by the governor of the
State to maintain property accountability records and oversee
property use by the State.''.
(b) Interagency Law Enforcement Equipment Working Group.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 60 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Attorney General, in coordination
with the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland
Security, shall establish an interagency Law Enforcement
Equipment Working Group (referred to in this subsection as
the ``Working Group'') to support oversight and policy
development functions for controlled equipment programs.
(2) Purpose.--The Working Group shall--
(A) examine and evaluate the Controlled and Prohibited
Equipment Lists for possible additions or deletions;
(B) track law enforcement agency controlled equipment
inventory;
(C) ensure Government-wide criteria to evaluate requests
for controlled equipment;
(D) ensure uniform standards for compliance reviews;
(E) harmonize Federal programs to ensure the programs have
consistent and transparent policies with respect to the
acquisition of controlled equipment by law enforcement
agencies;
(F) require after-action analysis reports for significant
incidents involving federally provided or federally funded
controlled equipment;
(G) develop policies to ensure that law enforcement
agencies abide by any limitations or affirmative obligations
imposed on the acquisition of controlled equipment or receipt
of funds to purchase controlled equipment from the Federal
Government and the obligations resulting from receipt of
Federal financial assistance;
(H) require a State and local governing body to review and
authorize a law enforcement agency's request for or
acquisition of controlled equipment;
(I) require that law enforcement agencies participating in
Federal controlled equipment programs receive necessary
training regarding appropriate use of controlled equipment
and the implementation of obligations resulting from receipt
of Federal financial assistance, including training on the
protection of civil rights and civil liberties;
(J) provide uniform standards for suspending law
enforcement agencies from Federal controlled equipment
programs for specified violations of law, including civil
rights laws, and ensuring those standards are implemented
consistently across agencies; and
(K) create a process to monitor the sale or transfer of
controlled equipment from the Federal Government or
controlled equipment purchased with funds from the Federal
Government by law enforcement agencies to third parties.
(3) Composition.--
(A) In general.--The Working Group shall be co-chaired by
the Attorney General, the Secretary of Defense, and the
Secretary of Homeland Security.
(B) Membership.--The Working Group shall be comprised of--
(i) representatives of interested parties, who are not
Federal employees, including appropriate State, local, and
Tribal officials, law enforcement organizations, civil rights
and civil liberties organizations, and academics; and
(ii) the heads of such other Federal agencies and offices
as the Co-Chairs may, from time to time, designate.
(C) Designation.--A member of the Working Group described
in subparagraph (A) or (B)(ii) may designate a senior-level
official from the agency or office represented by the member
to perform the day-to-day Working Group functions of the
member, if the designated official is a full-time officer or
employee of the Federal Government.
(D) Subgroups.--At the direction of the Co-Chairs, the
Working Group may establish subgroups consisting exclusively
of Working Group members or their designees under this
subsection, as appropriate.
(E) Executive director.--
(i) In general.--There shall be an Executive Director of
the Working Group, to be appointed by the Attorney General.
(ii) Responsibilities.--The Executive Director appointed
under clause (i) shall determine the agenda of the Working
Group, convene regular meetings, and supervise the work of
the Working Group under the direction of the Co-Chairs.
(iii) Funding.--
(I) In general.--To the extent permitted by law and using
amounts already appropriated, the Attorney General shall
fund, and provide administrative support for, the Working
Group.
(II) Requirement.--Each agency shall bear its own expenses
for participating in the Working Group.
(F) Coordination with the department of homeland
security.--In general, the Working Group shall coordinate
with the Homeland Security Advisory Council of the Department
of Homeland Security to identify areas of overlap or
potential national preparedness implications of further
changes to Federal controlled equipment programs.
(4) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this subsection shall
be construed as creating any right or benefit, substantive or
procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party
against the United States, its departments, agencies, or
entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other
person.
(c) Report on Department of Defense Transfer of Personal
Property to Law Enforcement Agencies and Other Entities.--
(1) Appropriate recipients defined.--In this subsection,
the term ``appropriate recipients'' means--
(A) the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate;
(B) the Committee on Armed Services of the House of
Representatives;
(C) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and
(D) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives.
(2) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, in
consultation with the Attorney General and the Secretary of
Homeland Security, shall submit a report to the appropriate
recipients.
(3) Contents.--The report required under paragraph (2)
shall contain--
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(A) a review of the efficacy of the surplus equipment
transfer program under section 1033 of title 10, United
States Code; and
(B) a determination of whether to recommend continuing or
ending the program described in subparagraph (A) in the
future.
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