Seven GOP House members, led by Rep. Chris Stewart, introduce legislation aimed at de-militarizing federal agencies by preventing them from purchasing certain firearms and developing their own SWAT-like teams.
Reports the Washington Examiner:
The 2002 Homeland Security Act gave most offices of inspector general the authority to create their own law enforcement teams. That led agencies like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Food and Drug Administration and others to create teams to conduct raids and arrests.
But Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah, and other Republicans say the federal government has gone too far.
“I understand that federal agents must be capable of protecting themselves, but what we have observed goes far beyond providing necessary protection,” he said Wednesday. “When there are genuinely dangerous situations involving federal law, that’s the job of the Department of Justice, not regulatory agencies like the FDA or the Department of Education.”
He notes that in 2010, the FDA mounted an armed raid against a grocery store that was accused of selling raw milk. Agents from the Department of Education and the Bureau of Land Management have conducted similar armed raids.
“Not only is it overkill, but having these highly armed units within dozens of agencies is duplicative, costly, heavy handed, dangerous and destroys any sense of trust between citizens and the federal government,” he added.
