The Senate bill, which is identical to the House version introduced today, is supported by a broad coalition [2] of advocates from across the political spectrum, including: American Civil Liberties Union, American Conservative Union, Americans for Prosperity, Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, Demand Progress, Due Process Institute, FreedomWorks, Government Accountability Project, Government Information Watch, Innocence Project, Justice Action Network, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, National Taxpayers Union, Open the Government, Protect Democracy, Project on Government Oversight (POGO), Public Citizen, R Street Institute, Right on Crime, and The Sentencing Project.
Prevent transfers of equipment inappropriate for local policing, such as military weapons, long-range acoustic devices, grenade launchers, weaponized drones, armored military vehicles, and grenades or similar explosives.
Require that recipients certify that they can account for all military weapons and equipment. In 2012, the weapons portion of the 1033 program was temporarily suspended after DOD found that a local sheriff gifted out army-surplus Humvees and other supplies. This bill would prohibit re-gifting and require recipients to account for all DOD weapons and equipment.
The bill adds requirements to enforce tracking mechanisms that keep up with and control transfers of the equipment, implements policies ensuring that police agencies can’t surplus the equipment for resale, and defines drones more clearly.
Durbin, Lee Introduce Bipartisan Inspector General Access Act
The bill is supported by a broad coalition of advocates from across the political spectrum, including American Civil Liberties Union, American Conservative Union, Americans for Prosperity, Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, Demand Progress, Due Process Institute, FreedomWorks, Government Accountability Project, Government Information Watch, Innocence Project, Justice Action Network, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, National Taxpayers Union, Open the Government, Protect Democracy, Project on Government Oversight (POGO), Public Citizen, R Street Institute, Right on Crime, and The Sentencing Project.
Government watchdog groups are calling on congressional committees to release the names of Trump political appointees who have “burrowed” into career civil service positions over concerns they may attempt to “sabotage” the Biden administration.
Former President Donald Trump signed an executive order in October that stripped career civil servants of employment protections and opened the door for political appointees to “burrow” into career positions inside the government. The move came as Trump Cabinet members like Education Secretary Betsy DeVos urged staffers to “be the resistance” to the incoming Democratic administration. President Joe Biden rescinded the order in his first days in office, but it remains unclear how many such appointees may have burrowed into career positions inside their departments.
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Government watchdog groups are calling on congressional committees to release the names of Trump political appointees who have burrowed into career civil service positions over concerns they may attempt to sabotage the Biden administration.
Former President Donald Trump signed an executive order in October that stripped career civil servants of employment protections and opened the door for political appointees to burrow into career positions inside the government. The move came as Trump Cabinet members like Education Secretary Betsy DeVos urged staffers to be the resistance to the incoming Democratic administration. President Joe Biden rescinded the order in his first days in office, but it remains unclear how many such appointees may have burrowed into career positions inside their departments.