The synopsis to the solicitation adds that the ammunition is to be shipped to 41 locations within 60 days of purchase. A separate spreadsheet lists those locations, which include the Social Security headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland as well as major cities across the country including Los Angeles, Detroit, Oklahoma City, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Denver, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Seattle.The article speculates about civil disturbance and the Federal government's preparations for it. I'm not sure about that.
While I'm sure there is a perfectly logical reason behind this RFQ for 174,000 rounds of ammunition by the Social Security Administration, I prefer to think of it as preparations for dealing with all those Gray Panthers who realize that the Obama Administration just screwed them with ObamaCare.
UPDATE: The Social Security Administration's Office of Inspector General responded in their blog to the reports questioning this purchase. I wonder how those Special Agents respond to an 80-year old Korean War vet with this M-1 Garand telling them to "get off my lawn."?
We launched the “Beyond the Numbers” blog more than two months ago to open a conversation with you, whether you are a Social Security beneficiary, or you know a family member or friend who receives Social Security payments.
If you think about it, the Social Security Administration’s programs touch almost all of us at some point in our lives. That’s why we have opened several social media channels to the public, as we strive to be a transparent and accountable government organization for all of our stakeholders.
With those goals in mind, we thought it would be appropriate to address recent media reports regarding the organization’s purchase of ammunition for our special agents’ duty weapons. We should first state that the OIG follows all Federal procurement rules when arranging these purchases.
As we said in a recent post, our office has criminal investigators, or special agents, who are responsible for investigating violations of the laws that govern SSA’s programs. Currently, about 295 special agents and supervisory special agents work in 66 offices across the United States. These investigators have full law enforcement authority, including executing search warrants and making arrests.
Our investigators are similar to your State or local police officers. They use traditional investigative techniques, and they are armed when on official duty.
Media reports expressed concerns over the type of ammunition ordered. In fact, this type of ammunition is standard issue for many law enforcement agencies. OIG’s special agents use this ammunition during their mandatory quarterly firearms qualifications and other training sessions, to ensure agent and public safety. Additionally, the ammunition our agents use is the same type used at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center.
Our special agents need to be armed and trained appropriately. They not only investigate allegations of Social Security fraud, but they also are called to respond to threats against Social Security offices, employees, and customers.
As we explained in another post, SSA is processing more applications than ever, which means more traffic in SSA offices. Employee and visitor safety is the highest priority for OIG, which, together with the Federal Protective Services and local law enforcement, has jurisdiction over SSA workplaces.
If you would like to comment on this subject, please refrain from making derogatory or inflammatory remarks. Any comments that include abusive or vulgar language, spam, hate speech, personal attacks, or similar content will not be posted, and repeated submission of such posts may result in the user being blocked from future commenting. We reserve the right to determine which comments are acceptable for posting.
Alex Jones? Seriously?
ReplyDeletewell to start with I did not know that ssa.had an army.I think there is to much big gov. in ssa. we deed to kick them out. that mony is for retires.
ReplyDelete