A bill introduced on Wednesday by U.S. Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX) would allow surplus defense equipment to continue being passed on to state and local police.
President Barack Obama took executive action to restrict the 1033 Program that enables some surplus defense equipment and supplies to be transferred to local police after riots in Ferguson, Mo., in 2015.
“The president’s decision to unilaterally cut access to potentially life-saving equipment was a knee-jerk reaction that put politics ahead of safety,” Ratcliffe said. “The legislation I’ve introduced ensures that any changes to such programs would be data-driven, as we simply cannot allow for politics to compromise the protection of those who’ve dedicated their careers to keeping Americans safe.”
The Protecting Lives Using Surplus (PLUS) Equipment Act would allow the continued transfer of surplus military supplies and equipment to local law enforcement agencies to assist with counter-drug and counter-terrorism efforts.
The National Fraternal Order of Police, the National Sheriffs Association, the Major County Sheriffs’ Association and the National Association of Police Organizations have endorsed Ratcliffe’s bill.
“The DoD is nearly finished with its recall efforts to remove equipment like certain armored vehicles,” Chuck Canterbury, the president of the National Fraternal Order of Police, said. “These vehicles are constructed so as to protect officers and citizens from gunfire, as we saw most recently at the tragic shootings in San Bernardino. Officers were able to safely approach the shooters’ escape vehicle, an SUV, by approaching them with multiple armored vehicles. No one at the scene of this tragic event, I assure you, was troubled by the appearance of the vehicle or the responding officers, even if the media would describe the response as ‘too militarized.’ This equipment, while politically incorrect, saved lives on that day.”