Social Security Administration Explains Plan to Buy 174,000 Hollow-Point Bullets

The Social Security Administration posted a blog on Thursday to explain why it was planning to purchase 174,000 hollow point bullets. SSA posted a "Request for Quote for Ammunition" on the FedBizOps.gov website on Aug. 7. The request listed the commodity that SSA desired as ".357 Sig 125 grain bonded jacketed hollow point pistol ammunition." The quantity listed was "174 TH." The SSA’s Office of the Inspector General’s said it posted a new blog on the agency’s website, “Beyond the Numbers,” “as we strive to be a transparent and accountable government organization for all of our stakeholders. The blog states that the SSA has 295 special agents who work in 66 offices across the United States. “These investigators have full law enforcement authority, including executing search warrants and making arrests,” the blog post states. “Our investigators are similar to your State or local police officers. “They use traditional investigative techniques, and they are armed when on official duty,” the blog post states. Concern expressed in some media reports about the type of ammunition ordered by the agency is unfounded, the blog states, explaining that the .357 Sig 125 grain bonded jacked hollow point pistol ammunition is “standard issue for many law enforcement agencies” and is appropriate for the work agents perform. “Our special agents need to be armed and trained appropriately,” the blog post states. “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.”...more

SSA has 295 special agents with "full law enforcement authority"?  Do they really need weapons to investigate fraud?  They then use the excuse they respond to threats and they are in 66 offices.  Bull hockey.  When I worked at a local Federal Bldg a local security firm provided armed guards.  Local firms also provided security for federal agencies that moved to other locations.  Besides, there are over 1,500 SSA offices, even 11 in little old NM, so how did they pick the 66 with LEOs?