By SUA Staff – We have witnessed a great expansion of power by the Executive Branch of government in recent years with the creation of Czars, Signing Statements, Executive Orders, the NDAA, Obama Care, the Patriot Act, massive land grabs, and much more…including circumventing the Congress and openly challenging the Judicial Branch. But what most people do not know, is that the Executive Branch employs more offices of law enforcement than you would believe.
One of these agencies, the FDA, the Food and Drug Administration, was the subject of a vote in Congress today. Rand Paul of Kentucky offered an amendment that speaks to this issue. He asked why the FDA needs guns. He mentioned there are over 40 federal agencies that have police powers, but he was underestimating.
His amendment to do away with these ‘insane’ police powers failed today, but we thought you may want to know more in the context of the growing police state that is America.
The number of Federal Agencies with police powers has grown dramatically since a study was conducted by Sarah Foster for WND in 1997 that was eye-opening then:
From Comeandtakeit.com – By Sarah Foster, 1997, WorldNetDaily.com
According to a recent report from the General Accounting Office, as of last September, the number of law enforcement personnel stood at just under 50,000 — distributed through 45 agencies — an increase of about 12,000 agents in 10 years with 2,436 added in 1996 alone. These are full-time agents, authorized to execute searches, make arrests, and/or carry firearms “if necessary.”
But that number is not complete. When some 7,145 Customs inspectors and 317 Customs Department pilots are added — all of whom have the above listed law enforcement powers — the total is pushing 60,000. Why doesn’t the GAO count them? Not because they aren’t armed and dangerous, but because they have different retirement benefits.
In a recent look by SUA, there are at least 50 offices where law enforcement powers exist. These do not include the ones we all know; those within the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, our military, and the Department of State. Six other law enforcement offices also not counted are in the Judicial and Legislative Branches. We also excluded the CIA from that number.
Some are easily explained, since Offices of the Inspector General (OIG) exist in most agencies, but it is surprising to learn about a few: (Likely not comprehensive we fear.)
- Department of Agriculture (USDA) – U.S. Forest Service, OIG
- Department of Commerce (DOC) – National Institute of Standards & Technology Police, NOAA Fisheries OLE, OIG,
- Department of Education – OIG
- Department of Energy (DOE) – Health Safety and Security, OIG
- Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Criminal Investigations, National Institute of Health Police, OIG
- Department of Housing and Urban Development – Protective Services Division, OIG
- Department of the Interior (USDI) – Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Mgt., National Park Service, Rangers, OIG
- Department of Labor – OIG
- Department of Transportation – OIG
- Department of the Treasury – Engraving and Print Police, IRS Criminal Division, OIG for Tax Administration, Mint Police, Special OIG for TARP
- Department of Veterans Affairs – OIG, VA Police
- United States Environmental Protection Agency – Criminal Division, OIG
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) – Security Services, OIG
- Nuclear Regulatory Commission – OIG
- Office of Personnel Management – OIG
- Railroad Retirement Board – OIG
- Small Business Administration – OIG
- Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation – OIG
- General Services Administration – OIG
- United States Postal Service (USPS) – OIG, Inspection Services, Postal Police
- Smithsonian Institution – Protection Services, National Zoological Park Police, OIG
- Amtrak – Amtrak Ploice, OIG
- Federal Reserve Bank – Federal Reserve Police
- Tennessee Valley Authority – TVA Police, OIG
- United States Agency for International Development – OIG
TARP has police? Perhaps the most perplexing law enforcement unit at the Federal level is the Special OIG for TARP, yes the Troubled Assets Relief Program, and please, tell us what the US Agency for International Development even is, and why does it need an Inspector General? We searched for a comprehensive report on just how many law enforcement personnel there are on the Federal level, but by the time of this posting, we had yet to locate those data.
All of this raises many questions, especially in light of recent reports SUA and many others have shown regarding the massive amounts of ammunition that was recently ordered. It is also important to ask why these types of ammunition are needed.
The folks at Natural News report on these questions, and they make quite a statement about what many believe is coming, wide-spread civil strife, possibly even open hostilities between the Federal government and its citizens. You be the judge.
From our previous reports:
ATK, the company now infamous for supplying upwards of 750 million rounds of .40 caliber hollow point ammunition to the Department of Homeland Security, has just secured a $266 million dollar contract to supply ammunition to the U.S. Army. (ATK press release on first contract awarded.)
From Natural News:
…”hollow point” ammunition is never purchased for practice or training. This ammunition is purchased for the sole purpose of being used in active fighting. At the same time, it is a violation of the Geneva Convention to use hollow point ammunition on the battle field.
Furthermore, DHS does not fight wars overseas. It is a domestic agency with domestic responsibilities.
Natural News also asked in its article what 450 million rounds means, but of course we know the actual number is much higher from more recent reports of other ammunition orders. But their insight and questions show in stark relief what that much ammo really means:
…located testimony by Maj. Gen. Buford C. Blount III, given in 2004 before the Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee of the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives. This testimony reveals that: In active battle operations in Iraq, ammunition is expended at the rate of 5.5 million rounds per month.
That’s 66 million rounds in a year. The General’s testimony states that the “past year” in Iraq “resulted in the expenditure of 72 million rounds,” which isn’t too far off from 66 million. I’ll use 70 million as a rough figure for annual ammo usage in an active war zone.
This is 70 million rounds of all types, including rifle rounds such as 5.56, .308, .50, etc. Pistol rounds most likely include 9mm (the common NATO round) and .45. There isn’t much .40 pistol ammo used by soldiers serving overseas, by the way.
There are so many instances popping up in the news, at least on the internet, where the real news gets reported, about crazy raids. Armed raids on the Amish for selling milk, the Gibson Guitar factory fiasco, the EPA debacle at Priest River, Idaho, and so on. No wonder the fear factor is off the charts, and everyone fears FEMA instead of lauding it as a safety net in times of disaster. It is actually beyond that fear alone now, a growing number of Americans are in abject fear of all that is Federal these days.
Incessant lies, twisted statistics, disingenuous rhetoric, plausible deniability arguments, and craftily worded messages abound. No wonder so many have lost trust in the government. More to come, of that we are sure…
Rand Paul Introduces Amendment to End the FDA’s Insane Police Powers:
“I see no reason to have the FDA carrying weapons.”
By Mike Riggs – Reason.com
“I think we have bigger problems in our country than sending armed FDA agents into peaceful farmers’ land and telling them they can’t sell milk directly from the cow,” Rand Paul said yesterday in a rousing speech calling for an end to the Food and Drug Administration’s police powers. More from the transcript, provided by Paul’s office:
Some of you might be surprised the FDA is armed. Well, you shouldn’t be.
We have nearly 40 federal agencies that are armed. I’m not against having police, I’m not against the army, the military, the FBI, but I think bureaucrats don’t need to be carrying weapons and I think what we ought to do, is if there is a need for an armed policeman to be there, the FBI who are trained to do this should do it. But I don’t think it’s a good idea to be arming bureaucrats to go on the farm to, with arms, to stop people from selling milk from a cow.
I think we have too many armed federal agencies, and that we need to put an end to this. Criminal law seems to be increasing, increasingly is using a tool of our government bureaucracy to punish and control honest businessmen for simply attempting to make a living.
Historically the criminal law was intended to punish only the most horrible offenses that everyone agreed were inherently wrong or evil, offenses like rape, murder, theft, arson – but now we’ve basically federalized thousands of activities and called them crimes.
If bureaucrats need to involve the police, let’s have them use the FBI, but I see no reason to have the FDA carrying weapons.
Paul’s amendment to the Prescription Drug User Fee Act has two parts: Part I would allow the makers of health products to advertise their benefits. “There’s no earthly reason why somebody who markets prune juice can’t advertise it helps with constipation,” Paul said. Part II of the amendment would prohibit FDA employees (as well as all other Health and Human Services employees) from carrying weapons and making arrests without warrants. (See the video of the speech here at Reason.com.)
