A federal program allowing police departments access to surplus military equipment has been reinstated by President Donald Trump.

“This is a huge win for law enforcement,” McKean County Sheriff Dan Woods said. “Having the ability to obtain surplus equipment will not only save police departments a lot of money, it will also help keep people and officers safe.

“Without this program, this equipment could possibly end up scrapped, and now it will be put to good use,” Woods said.

U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey told The Era Monday that he was “delighted” at Trump’s decision.

“I think it’s going to make all our communities safer,” Toomey said. “A lot of times local departments can’t afford equipment to protect themselves.”

In May 2015, President Obama issued a directive that restricted local police from obtaining certain surplus federal gear, and in 2016, the Obama administration began seizing equipment from local police departments.

A release from Toomey’s office said many of the restricted items were “purely defensive,” such as riot helmets and shields, “items vital to protecting law enforcement during riots, where protesters have been known to torch cars and hurl bricks, cement blocks and glass bottles at police. The directive also restricted armored vehicles, which were vital to rescuing hostages from an Orlando night club during the terror attack of June 2016.”

In 2016 and ’17,Toomey introduced the Lifesaving Gear for Police Act, a bill that would reverse Obama’s restrictions and require the federal government to return gear that had been seized from local police departments.

Calling Obama’s restriction “a very bad decision,” Toomey said he doesn’t agree with citizens who raise fears of “militarizing” the police.

He cited an example of when an armed gunman takes a hostage inside a building, and is shooting at law enforcement.

“Is it really fair to ask police to approach that house and crouch behind the door of their cruiser, which is totally inadequate? How about the danger to other people of being shot? Having the ability to approach in an armored vehicle … it often results in defusing the situation,” Toomey said.

“It’s about the police having at least as much protection as the bad guys have weapons,” the senator added. “I think it’s very good policy to restore access to that.”