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FederalDaily - November 2, 2005

Army Sergeants Imported Machine Guns from Iraq

Two Army sergeants were recently sentenced on charges of conspiring to import machine guns from Iraq and aiding and abetting the possession of a machine gun, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ). Beau Uran admitted he conspired to unlawfully import into the U.S. 18 machine guns that were acquired in Iraq while he and Nigel Brown were serving there as soldiers in the U.S. Army, DOJ stated. Uran admitted to acquiring the machine guns from other soldiers in Iraq and to concealing the weapons by placing them in empty oxygen tanks and welding the bottoms back on the tanks. Brown admitted to the conspiracy and stated that he removed the machine guns from the oxygen tanks after they had been shipped back to Ft. Campbell, Kentucky. Brown was sentenced to two years and six months imprisonment followed by two years of supervised release and Uran to six months of custody followed by two years of supervised release, with six months of home detention and electronic monitoring.

Protecting Federal Judges, Law Enforcement

The House Judiciary Committee recently passed the Secure Access to Justice and Court Protection Act of 2005, H.R. 1751, by a vote of 26-5. Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, who sponsored the bill, said it should now be headed for the House floor for a vote. He said the bill addresses weaknesses in the way judges, law enforcement personnel, first responders, court personnel and their families are protected. “Violent crimes in our courthouses must cease and those who commit these heinous crimes must be punished accordingly including the death penalty for murdering judges, law enforcement or their families,” Gohmert said. Some highlights of the act include:

protects immediate family members of federally-funded public safety officials by stiffening penalties;

provides enhanced criminal penalties where the victim is a judge, federal law enforcement officer or a federally-funded public safety officer;

adds a new federal crime prohibiting false claims against or slander of title of all federal judges and federal attorneys, both prosecutors and defense attorneys; and

provides a 30-year minimum prison sentence, or the death penalty, for the killing of a federally-funded public safety officer.

GAO Criticizes EEOC Restructuring Plans

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) was established more than 40 years ago. Recently, it has created a restructuring plan, as directed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). (OMB directed federal agencies to prepare restructuring plans with the goal of flattening the federal hierarchy in 2001.) But a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report said EEOC has missed some opportunities to improve its structure. The National Academy of Public Administration ( NAPA) completed a major study of EEOC’s operations and created an extensive list of recommendations. However, GAO said EEOC does not have an organized way of considering each of NAPA’s recommendations. The GAO report stated: “As a result, EEOC may miss an opportunity to become more efficient and effective…” GAO advised EEOC to consider all of the NAPA recommendations. To view the report, go to www.gao.gov/new.items/d0610.pdf.

Chertoff Grilled over Hurricane Response

On Tuesday Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., sent a letter asking Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff to explain why the “Catastrophic Incident Supplement” to the National Response Plan, which was supposed to contain detailed plans for responding to disasters, was not finalized before Hurricane Katrina. “Although the National Response Plan was issued over nine months ago, we have been informed that the operational annex remains incomplete to this day,” the letter stated. It added that without the operational annex to guide the federal response, “there was tremendous confusion and an utter lack of coordination among federal agencies involved in the response efforts.” The letter also said the Chertoff’s judgment in relying on former Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Michael Brown as the leader of the federal hurricane response “can be called into serious question.”