Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to this amendment. It is deja vu all over again. Once again, the Congress is confronted with a Republican effort to militarize our borders by funneling billions of dollars of military equipment to local law enforcement anywhere in the country for border security activities. The 1033 program transfers billions of dollars of military equipment to law enforcement agencies without any congressional oversight or community input. This amendment adds a border security activities priority to the program that will quietly funnel military-grade weaponry to law enforcement for this poorly defined priority. Passage of this amendment means that any law enforcement agency anywhere in the country can get an MRAP or an M- 16 straight from the battlefield in Iraq if they simply tell the DOD they need it for border security activities, regardless of whether the agency is 10 miles or thousands of miles from the border with Mexico or Canada. Mr. Chairman, this amendment also means that campus police at local school districts and colleges can get the same MRAP or M-16 straight from the battlefield in Iraq if they tell the DOD they need it for border security activities. Last year, Republicans tried to include this language in the fiscal year '15 NDAA. Congress wisely chose to reject it.…”