The Disturbing Trend Toward Federal Police
by Congressman Ron Paul
http://www.house.gov/paul/
The House of Representatives recently approved a mas-
sive appropriations bill that will fund various Treasury
Department agencies at record spending levels. The bill
appropriates nearly 30 billion dollars, an increase over
last year's already huge Treasury budget. More disturbing,
however, is the whopping 23% increase in funding for the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) contained in
the Treasury bill.
ATF gets more than $730 million dollars for fiscal year
2001, an increase of $166 million over its 2000 budget. Why
the increase? The administration wants the agency to hire
600 new federal police officers to enforce ever-expanding
gun laws. Never mind the obvious failures of gun control
legislation and the clear Second Amendment prohibition
against such laws. The politicians in Washington are deter-
mined to slowly abolish gun rights, and they are determined
to use federal police to accomplish the task.
The American public gradually has become aware of the
disturbing trend toward federal policing of our nation.
Many Americans do not support ATF, especially after the
disastrous events at Waco. I was widely attacked in the
media and by members of Congress for questioning the gover-
nment's actions at Waco, and for merely suggesting that many
Americans were concerned by the possibility of federal
agents taking violent action against American citizens. Now
we have Congress spending more money to increase the budget
for ATF, despite its highly questionable actions and the
resulting public mistrust of the agency.
It is important to recognize that our federal constitu-
tion lists only three federal crimes, namely counterfeiting,
treason, and piracy on the high seas. The founding fathers
never envisioned a federal police force, knowing that such a
force would trample on the right of each state to enact and
enforce its own criminal laws. Hence there is no provision
for the creation of a general federal police force in the
enumeration of congressional powers. Furthermore, the 10th
amendment explicitly reserves the general police power to
the states individually. Washington politicians, however,
have no interest in constitutional limitations when they
seek to expand and consolidate their power by federalizing
whole areas of criminal activity. They have consistently
expanded federal criminal laws, particularly in the areas of
drugs and firearms. The result of this expansion is the
inevitable call for more federal police to enforce the new
laws. We are told we need more ATF agents to monitor fire-
arms, and more DEA agents to wage the "war on drugs." Con-
gress is not concerned with its lack of constitutional
authority to create, much less expand a national police
force.
Washington politicians have successfully used recent
excessive-force allegations against local police to further
their goals. It is convenient to portray local police as
violent or racist, and therefore in need of federal over-
sight and restraint. The question, however, is whether we
should trust a federal police force more than we trust our
own local authorities. I believe there is a growing recog-
nition that our founding fathers were correct when they
prohibited federal government involvement in law enforce-
ment. In Waco, Americans had a vivid example of the impact
of the growing police state. With the veneer being stripped
from the myth of federal law enforcement, our citizens are
beginning to realize that it is both unconstitutional and
untenable.
http://www.house.gov/paul/tst/tst2000/tst073100.htm
--
**COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. Section 107,
any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use
without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest
in receiving the included information for nonprofit research and
educational
by Congressman Ron Paul
http://www.house.gov/paul/
The House of Representatives recently approved a mas-
sive appropriations bill that will fund various Treasury
Department agencies at record spending levels. The bill
appropriates nearly 30 billion dollars, an increase over
last year's already huge Treasury budget. More disturbing,
however, is the whopping 23% increase in funding for the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) contained in
the Treasury bill.
ATF gets more than $730 million dollars for fiscal year
2001, an increase of $166 million over its 2000 budget. Why
the increase? The administration wants the agency to hire
600 new federal police officers to enforce ever-expanding
gun laws. Never mind the obvious failures of gun control
legislation and the clear Second Amendment prohibition
against such laws. The politicians in Washington are deter-
mined to slowly abolish gun rights, and they are determined
to use federal police to accomplish the task.
The American public gradually has become aware of the
disturbing trend toward federal policing of our nation.
Many Americans do not support ATF, especially after the
disastrous events at Waco. I was widely attacked in the
media and by members of Congress for questioning the gover-
nment's actions at Waco, and for merely suggesting that many
Americans were concerned by the possibility of federal
agents taking violent action against American citizens. Now
we have Congress spending more money to increase the budget
for ATF, despite its highly questionable actions and the
resulting public mistrust of the agency.
It is important to recognize that our federal constitu-
tion lists only three federal crimes, namely counterfeiting,
treason, and piracy on the high seas. The founding fathers
never envisioned a federal police force, knowing that such a
force would trample on the right of each state to enact and
enforce its own criminal laws. Hence there is no provision
for the creation of a general federal police force in the
enumeration of congressional powers. Furthermore, the 10th
amendment explicitly reserves the general police power to
the states individually. Washington politicians, however,
have no interest in constitutional limitations when they
seek to expand and consolidate their power by federalizing
whole areas of criminal activity. They have consistently
expanded federal criminal laws, particularly in the areas of
drugs and firearms. The result of this expansion is the
inevitable call for more federal police to enforce the new
laws. We are told we need more ATF agents to monitor fire-
arms, and more DEA agents to wage the "war on drugs." Con-
gress is not concerned with its lack of constitutional
authority to create, much less expand a national police
force.
Washington politicians have successfully used recent
excessive-force allegations against local police to further
their goals. It is convenient to portray local police as
violent or racist, and therefore in need of federal over-
sight and restraint. The question, however, is whether we
should trust a federal police force more than we trust our
own local authorities. I believe there is a growing recog-
nition that our founding fathers were correct when they
prohibited federal government involvement in law enforce-
ment. In Waco, Americans had a vivid example of the impact
of the growing police state. With the veneer being stripped
from the myth of federal law enforcement, our citizens are
beginning to realize that it is both unconstitutional and
untenable.
http://www.house.gov/paul/tst/tst2000/tst073100.htm
--
**COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. Section 107,
any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use
without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest
in receiving the included information for nonprofit research and
educational
