National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022

Floor Speech

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Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of my bipartisan amendment to end the Defense Department's militarization of police departments across the Nation.

I think we can all agree that community confidence in law enforcement is at an all-time low, and a huge factor in this loss of confidence is the militarization of our police departments across the Nation.

This trend has been exacerbated by the 1033 program that creates a pipeline to transfer surplus military weapons from war zones directly to domestic law enforcement agencies.

These law enforcement agencies, without consent of the civilian authorities, obtain military grade weaponry directly from the war zones of Iraq and Afghanistan, and it is the civilian authorities who should decide whether such equipment is needed, not the law enforcement agencies themselves.

The approval of city councils, county commissions, and other civilian authorities is bypassed under the 1033 program, and this amendment would fix that. It would stop law enforcement agencies from acquiring military-grade weaponry without the consent of the governed.

They oftentimes have no need for these weapons of war, nor are they trained as to how and when to use the equipment, but a requirement in the 1033 program mandates that the acquired equipment be placed into use within 12 months of acquisition. This mandate has resulted in the misuse of the equipment and abuse of civilians against whom it was used.

The result has been communities alienated and a loss of confidence in law enforcement. Momentum is building toward reform of the 1033 program. American communities are not and should not be turned into battlefields, and people in those communities should not be looked at as enemy combatants.

The ending of the war in Afghanistan makes it even more important than ever that we close down this pipeline of military-grade weapons from foreign war zones to the streets of our Nation.

Over 17,000 pieces of military equipment have been declared excess or surplus and sent to the Defense Logistics Agency for distribution on our streets.

The time is now to act, and I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on my amendment.

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Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, a small law enforcement agency being able to order massive amounts of military equipment directly from the battlefields of this country and to do it without consent of the governed is wrong, and that is what this amendment will get at.

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Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, rather than defund police, this amendment restores civilian authority over law enforcement.

And I will submit to you that a small law enforcement agency doesn't need a military-grade tank to rescue stranded individuals due to a hurricane or something like that, some kind of a natural disaster. You don't need a military tank to do that.

And no law enforcement agency should be able to order that equipment directly from the battlefield without the consent of the governed.

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Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, a large metropolitan law enforcement agency with the consent of the governed has the ability to purchase whatever equipment they need, but the bottom line is the civilian authorities get to decide, and the taxpayers pay for it.

But there should not be a supply line directly from the battlefield to a local law enforcement agency without consent of the governed and with the governed having to bear the cost of unnecessary equipment, as well as its misuse that contributes to the decline and confidence in law enforcement.

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Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, a pig with lipstick is still a pig, and a military-grade helicopter secured from the battlefields of Afghanistan is still a military-grade helicopter being used against the citizens.

Now, if the gentleman's jurisdiction, the city council or the county commissioner agreed to purchase and voted on that, agreed to accept the material, then that is good, but that is not required under the 1033 program, which allows law enforcement agencies to petition directly to the Department of Defense and get this equipment like those helicopters without the consent of the governed. And that is wrong.

Over the last several decades, the 1033 program has transferred more than $7.4 billion in surplus military equipment to over 8,000 Federal, Tribal, State, and local law enforcement agencies across the country.

When I first introduced this language in 2014, I have heard every single excuse why we should not do something about this program, but it needs to end. The militarization of our police departments needs to end so that we can begin the process of restoring confidence in law enforcement.

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