There are real costs associated with giving military equipment to local police departments, not the least of which is public outrage over cops who armor themselves like commandos to walk city streets.

So we were glad to see federal lawmakers probe the police militarization issue this week and hope they move to clamp down on the flow of surplus gear from the military to local law enforcement.

One of the startling facts to come out of a hearing Tuesday in Washington was that a third of the equipment that police get from the Pentagon is brand new — never used by the military — when it lands in local departments.

All told, billions of dollars’ worth of gear has gone from the military to local departments during the past two decades. Such a pipeline raises questions about military efficiency and thrift. Given this nation’s budget woes, it is an area ripe for reform.

Federal lawmakers should clamp down on this largesse, which would prompt local departments to outfit themselves in ways that better fit the mission of domestic police.