Political Quotes

“Madam President, I rise today in support of the Schatz amendment. The Schatz amendment would make changes to one of the Defense Department's surplus property programs, known as the 1033 Program, which allows the Defense Department to disperse excess military equipment to Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies. The 1033 Program has provided the Defense Department a way to reuse taxpayer-funded equipment it no longer needs by providing it to law enforcement agencies. This, in turn, saves State and local governments from having to buy new equipment. This program is almost 25 years old, and it has been the subject of continued scrutiny and modifications. I would first like to review what is in place. DOD requires that all requests for equipment from law enforcement agencies include a justification of how the property will be used. This justification is a key factor in determining if a requisition is to be approved. Next, according to the Defense Department, 92 percent of the equipment transferred during fiscal year 2019 was in the category of uncontrolled property--things like office equipment, first aid kits, hand tools, computers, and digital cameras. After 1 year from transfer, items in this category become the property of the law enforcement agency and are no longer subject to annual inventory requirements.…”