Formatting necessary for an accurate reading of this text may be shown by tags (e.g., <DELETED> or <BOLD>) or may be missing from this TXT display. For complete and accurate display of this text, see the PDF.

[Pages H5175-H5176] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] DEFECTIVE MILITARY EQUIPMENT (Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.) Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with grave concerns over a recent Justice Department Inspector General report detailing how Federal Prison Industries manufactured defective military equipment that endangered the lives of our troops. The DOJ investigation into FPI, which is owned and operated by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons found that ``FPI had endemic manufacturing problems.'' This photo of a test mannequin in an NBC News story about defective prisoner-made equipment shows brain damage likely would have occurred from a small 9 millimeter bullet through a helmet. Making matters worse, the investigation also uncovered that FPI employees instructed inmates to lie and falsely indicate that the helmets being manufactured had passed inspection and met the required safety specifications. This is completely unacceptable, and potentially criminal. The FPI response? Reassign the employees. Can you imagine if these were private sector employees rather than government bureaucrats? [[Page H5176]] In order to hold FPI accountable, I have introduced H.R. 4671, the Small Business Protection Act. It is our responsibility to supply our troops with the highest quality, American-made gear available. FPI does not deliver on that promise, and I request the support of my colleagues in this endeavor. ____________________