Rep. Johnson prepares amendment to fight militarization of border

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Before Republicans suddenly pulled H.R. 399, Secure Our Borders First Act of 2015, this week, the bill had a provision buried on page 78 that would expand the Pentagon’s 1033 Program to our nation’s borders.

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The Pentagon’s “1033” program transfers billions of dollars of excess Department of Defense (DOD) equipment to law enforcement agencies without any Congressional oversight or local community input.

The underlying bill adds a new “border security activities’’ priority to the program, that will quietly funnel military-grade equipment to law enforcement for this new, and poorly defined, priority.

“We can all agree that we have legitimate security needs at our borders, but militarizing our border through the “1033” program is not the solution and will only contribute to a further increase in tensions,” said Johnson, who is preparing an amendment to H.R. 399. “It appears some of my colleagues did not learn tragic lessons from Ferguson, Missouri, last summer, as the nation saw the devastating and intimidating result of a militarized police force.”

Johnson’s amendment would prevent local law enforcement along our borders, and local law enforcement anywhere in our country who claim to have “border security activities”, from accessing a new way to acquire free weapons, MRAP’s, explosives, and other military-grade equipment.

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