Waste of the Day: The EPA Spent $620,000 On Guns And Ammo
Topline: The Environmental Protection Agency isn’t traditionally associated with ranged weaponry, but the federal government has spent almost $620,000 since 2018 to buy guns, ammunition, and more for EPA employees.
Key facts: Auditors at OpenTheBooks.com found that between 2018 and 2022, the EPA spent close to $400,000 of federal funds just on ammunition. That came after the EPA purchased 500,000 rounds of ammo and 600 guns from 2010-2017.
Over $100,000 went to buying armor for EPA employees. Funds were also used for “optical sighting and ranging equipment,” for “night vision equipment” and “security vehicles.”
Background: The EPA has a Criminal Enforcement Program, which had a budget of more than $70 million in 2023. Its goals include “protecting communities with environmental justice concerns” and curbing illegal sales of pesticides.
The EPA also has its own Office of Homeland Security, which provides “systemic preparation” for climate and environment related threats. Its budget was nearly $90 million last year.
Those divisions include 259 employees with job titles of “Criminal Investigation” or some similar variation. Those employees collectively earned almost $32 million in salary last year, with 217 of them making six figures.
Several other seemingly-docile federal agencies, including Social Security Administration and the Department of Labor, have spent hundreds of thousands on weaponry.
In July 2023, House Republicans introduced a resolution that would strip the EPA and some other departments of their weapons funding. An amendment to the EPA appropriations bill passed by voice vote in September.
The EPA’s budget and workforce have both increased each year under President Joe Biden.
Critical quote: “There was a pretty extreme edge to the regulatory enforcement agents that interacted with my constituents, especially in rural areas,” said Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.). “I was surprised to find that these regulatory agencies had armed police officers rolling up into my constituents’ properties to enforce their regulations.”
Supporting quote: “The authority for EPA special agents to carry weapons has garnered long-standing and broad bipartisan support,” an agency spokesperson said. “Our agents carry weapons as a critically important public safety measure, for the safety of the agents themselves, and for EPA’s ability to effectively enforce environmental laws.”
Summary: It costs $620,000 to provide sufficient weaponry for the EPA, a government agency that normally focuses on creating and enforcing protocol from behind a desk.
The #WasteOfTheDay is brought to you by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com
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