Email,  Jason Johnson, Texans ARE, Sept. 12, 2018

1:30 p.m.

Here is the information you’re looking for.  The amendment did extend to body armor and in fact, the El Paso Sheriff’s office acquired 156 units of body armor from the Defense Department’s Excess Personal Property Program: https://www.openthebooks.com/map/?Map=1&MapType=Heat

In June of 2014, O’Rourke voted yes on Rep. Grayson’s [D-FL] amendment to the 2015 Defense Appropriations Act that sought to bar funding for the Defense Department’s Excess Personal Property Program.

This program has provided El Paso-area law enforcement with a little over $9.2 million in equipment over the years.

Some of the more notable items include:

• Over 90 night vision units for the local border patrol.

• Helicopters for the city police as well as the border patrol.

• A Bomb robot for the EPPD.

• 156 units of body armor for the sheriff’s office.

Later, O’Rourke voted against an amendment to the FY 2016 Defense Authorization from Rep. Michael McCaul that included border security activities on the list of preferred applications the Defense Department should consider when transferring excess property to other federal agencies. This amendment passed by a vote of 253 in favor to 166 opposed. http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2015/roll232.xml