Bipartisan Push To Cut Off Military Gear From Police Departments Fails In Senate

Senate Republicans on Tuesday blocked a bipartisan effort to limit certain kinds of military weapons and gear from flowing to local police departments nationwide.

For decades, the 1033 program has enabled the Defense Department to sell excess and outdated military equipment like armored vehicles, drones, grenade launchers, tear gas, and bayonets, to local law enforcement agencies. According to Wired, over $7.4 billion of equipment has gone to more than 8,000 law enforcement agencies.

President Barack Obama curtailed the program in 2015 after public reaction to images of heavily militarized police in the streets of Ferguson, Missouri, amid protests over the shooting of Michael Brown. However, former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions revived it upon taking office under President Donald Trump in 2017, citing the support of police unions. 

Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) introduced an amendment this month to the annual defense bill trying to reform the program by limiting certain kinds of military-grade weapons from getting in the hands of police. The proposal would also have instituted transparency to the program by creating a website to track the transfer of property under the 1033 program. 

It had bipartisan support ― including Republican senators like Rand Paul (Ky.) and Lisa Murkwoski (Alaska), and conservative groups like the FreedomWorks and American Conservative Union. Two vulnerable GOP senators facing tough reelection fights in November joined Murkowski and Paul in voting for the measure: Cory Gardner (Colo.) and Steve Daines (Mont.).

“It is time to demilitarize the police. Weapons of war has no place at police departments,” Schatz said in a floor speech on Tuesday.

The effort was stymied on Tuesday, however, thanks to large opposition from Senate Republicans. Fifty-one senators backed the measure, short of the 60 votes required for adoption.

Senate Armed Services Chairman Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) called the 1033 program an “effective use of the taxpayer’s money” and said Schatz’s amendment would “make the program virtually impossible to use.”

“He doesn’t like the program. He wants to kill the program. We’re not going to allow this to happen,” Inhofe said, citing the support of law enforcement organizations like the National Sheriffs’ Association and the National Fraternal Order of Police.

Inhofe introduced a more narrow, competing amendment to the defense bill that would have imposed additional conditions on the transfer of military-grade weapons to police departments, but not blocked them outright. That amendment also is likely to fail to garner enough support for adoption.

The debate over the militarization of police in the Senate took place as President Donald Trump threatened to send more federal troops to major American cities, following the federal crackdown on Portland protests against police brutality. Unidentified federal officers in the Oregon city used unmarked cars and worn military-style camouflage on the streets, drawing condemnation from Democrats and Republicans alike.

“We cannot give up liberty for security. Local law enforcement can and should be handling these situations in our cities but there is no place for federal troops or unidentified federal agents rounding people up at will,” Paul tweeted on Monday.