Militarization

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge this House to stop the free flow of excess Defense Department military weapons and equipment to local law enforcement.

Our neighborhoods need to be protected, but Americans oppose blurring the line between the police and military. When law enforcement uses military MRAPs on Main Street, that changes the relationship with the public.

Our country is not a war zone, and it should not feel like one. That is why Representative Raul Labrador and myself are introducing the Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act. This is a commonsense and bipartisan bill to reform the Department of Defense 1033 program to stop the free flow of this equipment from foreign battlefields directly to the streets of America.

I urge all of my colleagues to support this bill.

Source