Congress is involved in WAY too much stuff that they should not be involved in
Agreed. This decision should be left to the Air Force, and I think they've made the right call.
and who is liable when Rex has a bad day and eats the UPS man?
Whoever was supposed to be holding the leash. This idea that there is some sort of inherent liability in creating something, living or nonliving, that has the potential to be dangerous but not actually having ownership or control over it is silly. It's the same logic as the product liability lawsuits against gun manufacturers. So what if the dog is an attack dog? The handler, of all people, would know that, and would be responsible for the conduct of the animal. Responsibility for the (mis)use of anything transfers along with posession.