Does the Department of Education really need SWAT teams? How about the Department of Agriculture or HUD?

Finally, legislation has been introduced to reverse the militarization of the federal bureaucracy.  Representative Cynthia Loomis (R-WY) has introduced lefgislation that would reverse the dangerous madness. Her constituent newsletter reds:

In June 2011, armed federal agents with the Department of Education broke down the door of a California home and handcuffed a man suspected of student aid fraud (Washington Post, June 8, 2011).  While some may applaud their zeal for fighting fraud, I am very disturbed that the Department of Education has a specialized team with the authority to do a raid on a private home.  There are numerous other examples including a raid by the Food and Drug Agency on an organic grocery store suspected of using raw milk (LA Times, July 10, 2010).  In May of this year the U.S. Department of Agriculture even requested sub-machine guns.

All these agencies are using provisions of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to arm themselves to the teeth.  This is costly and dangerous and that is why I am proud to join Chris Stewart of Utah and co-sponsor H.R. 4934: The Regulatory Agency De-militarization Act.  The bill revokes provisions of the 2002 Homeland Security Act that grant Offices of Inspector General firearm and arrest authority and prohibits many federal agencies from purchasing or using firearms regulated under the National Firearms Act such as machine guns and grenades.  The act also requires a report detailing all federal agencies with teams that have received special tactical, military, or other training that goes beyond the scope of regular law enforcement.

If you have any thought or concerns on this or other matters, please do not hesitate to contact me

Hat tip; Karin McQuillan