Gary Palmer: “The Environmental Protection Agency, the EPA, spends as much as $50 million a year to employ nearly 200 armed agents at…”

“The Environmental Protection Agency, the EPA, spends as much as $50 million a year to employ nearly 200 armed agents at an average cost of $216,000 per year, per agent. The American people would likely be disturbed to hear that. According to the nonprofit Open the Books, the EPA has spent millions of dollars over the years on antitank ammunition, amphibious assault craft, night vision equipment, unmanned aircraft, and other military equipment. It is difficult for me to imagine that the EPA has a legitimate use for antitank ammunition. To me, that sounds like we are arming a SEAL team. The difference is a SEAL team can explain why they need these things; the EPA cannot. These agents have been involved in raids in Alaska, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Massachusetts, North Carolina, and in my own State of Alabama. In Alaska, EPA agents wearing flak jackets and carrying long guns showed up to review paperwork at a family-owned mining operation. In my home State of Alabama, armed EPA agents took over two waste treatment facilities in Dothan, Alabama. These agents were posted at each entrance to the plant and recorded identification information on all of those going in and going out. The EPA is just one of more than 70 Federal agencies that employ armed personnel, many of which most Americans would never associate with law enforcement. I think we need to take a step back and reevaluate whether arming the bureaucracy is the best way to ensure that our laws are enforced.…”