GA Congressman Hank Johnson reintroduces bill to de-militarize police

WASHINGTON, D.C. –Rep. Hank Johnson (GA-04) re-introduced his commonsense Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act of 2026 that would place restrictions and transparency measures on the Department of Defense (DOD) Program that transfers excess military equipment to federal, tribal, state and local law enforcement agencies.

“When you see law enforcement in our communities across the country that look more like an occupying force armed to the teeth, masked and carrying weapons of war, something has gone terribly wrong,” said Johnson. “When law enforcement officers, particularly unaccountable federal agents dressed like commandos are dragging American citizens from their homes, their cars and killing American citizens on our streets, it changes the entire dynamic of public safety, even our democracy. The militarization of police — whether they be local, state or federal agencies – only terrorize our communities and make us less safe.”

Through the Defense Logistics Agency’s Law Enforcement Support Office or “1033 program,” the Department of Defense has transferred more than $8 billion in surplus military equipment – often from warzones overseas – to local law enforcement agencies, without charge. 

“Presidential administrations have sought to reform 1033 through executive orders, but these orders can easily be overturned, as we saw when President Trump rescinded President Obama’s order reining it in in 2017 and Biden’s EO curtailing the program when he took office again in 2025. For a longer-term solution, Congress should pass the Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act to increase oversight and transparency of the 1033 program,” Johnson said.

The Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act would:

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, implement policies ensuring that police agencies can’t surplus the equipment for resale, and defines drones more clearly.

Current Original Cosponsors (19): Andre Carson (IN), Danny K. Davis (IL), Diana DeGette (CO), Lloyd Doggett (TX), Dwight Evans (PA), Maxwell Frost (FL), Sylvia Garcia (TX), Robin Kelly (IL), Ro Khanna (CA), Summer Lee (PA), LaMonica McIver (NJ), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), Jan Schakowsky (IL), David Scott (GA), Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA), Lateefah Simon (CA), Shri Thanedar (MI), Rashida Tlaib (MI), Frederica Wilson (FL)
Supporting Groups: American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Amnesty International USA, Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, Government Information Watch, Japanese American Citizens League, National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, National Priorities Project at the Institute for Policy Studies, NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, ReThinking Foreign Policy, RootsAction, Stand Up America, World BEYOND War 

“The Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act is a critical step toward ensuring that policing is grounded in accountability, transparency, and bound by the Constitution. Armored vehicles and battlefield weapons are meant to intimidate and escalate conflict and have no place in American streets and communities.” — Nina Patel, ACLU Senior Policy Counsel Justice Division or Nina Patel, Senior Policy Counsel ACLU Justice Division

To read the bill, click HERE.