[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 124 (Tuesday, July 30, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E789]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 INTRODUCTION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY OFFICER PROTECTION ACT 
                                OF 2024

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 30, 2024

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, today, I introduce the Department of the 
Treasury Officer Protection Act of 2024. This bill would help protect 
Treasury Department police officers and the public by allowing all the 
officers, including those who work at the Bureau of Engraving and 
Printing (BEP), to carry their government firearms home.
  BEP officers are not allowed to take their government firearms home. 
However, BEP officers can be targets because they wear uniforms to and 
from work. Many BEP officers carry personal firearms to and from work 
because they are not allowed to take their government firearms home, 
and some are forced to leave those personal firearms in their cars 
while they are on duty, creating a possibly dangerous situation.
  Allowing BEP officers to carry their government firearms home will 
put them in the same position as Mint officers. Although both agencies 
are under the Treasury Department under Treasury Department rules, Mint 
officers are allowed to carry their government firearms home, while BEP 
officers are not. There is no meaningful distinction between officers 
for these two agencies. They should be treated equally.
  This bill would allow all police officers in the Treasury Department 
to carry their government firearms home to protect officers and the 
public, eliminating separate carrying rules for the Treasury 
Department's different law enforcement agencies.
  I ask my colleagues to support this bill.

                          ____________________