“Senate and House Republicans are set to introduce a joint bill Friday that would significantly limit the amount of ammunition that federal agencies are permitted to purchase and stockpile over the next six months,” freebeacon.com reports. “The bill, authored by Sen. Jim Inhofe (R., Okla.) and Rep. Frank Lucas (R., Okla.), comes as numerous lawmakers across Capitol Hill have expressed concern that certain federal agencies, such as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), are stockpiling high quantities of ammunition. DHS, for instance, has placed two-years worth of ammunition, or nearly 247 million rounds, in its inventory.” Inhofe is down with Alex Jones on this one . . .
President Obama has been adamant about curbing law-abiding Americans’ access and opportunities to exercise their Second Amendment rights. One way the Obama administration is able to do this is by limiting what’s available in the market with federal agencies purchasing unnecessary stockpiles of ammunition.
Tin hats to the side, the debut of the Ammunition Management for More Obtainability Act is bound to increase public demand for ammo (if such a thing is possible), sucking-up any decrease in government purchasing.
Remember: most gun owners aren’t up to speed with this whole DHS is buying billions of bullets deal. That’s Inside Baseball Alex Jones Armed Intelligentsia territory. The bill will publicize the government hoarding, thereby stoking the fires of paranoia prudence. OMG! The government’s buying-up all the ammo! Must. Buy. Ammo.
A House committee hearing this week revealed the scope of the government ammo-Hoover. The Department of Homeland Security admitted to stockpiling nearly 1,000 more rounds of ammunition per DHS officers than that afforded soldiers. foxnews.com put some numbers down:
Chaffetz, who chairs one of the House oversight subcommittees holding the hearing Thursday, revealed that the department currently has more than 260 million rounds in stock. He said the department bought more than 103 million rounds in 2012 and used 116 million that same year — among roughly 70,000 agents.
Comparing that with the small-arms purchases procured by the U.S. Army, he said the DHS is churning through between 1,300 and 1,600 rounds per officer, while the U.S. Army goes through roughly 350 rounds per soldier.
Pshaw! That ain’t nothin‘, says the DHS. Here’s their take:
DHS officials defended the department’s ammunition purchases during a House hearing on Thursday. They maintained that the department’s stockpile of 247 million rounds of ammo is necessary and does not constitute “hoarding,” as critics have argued.
Nick Nayak, DHS’s chief procurement officer, told lawmakers that the department reserves the right to purchase 750 million rounds of ammunition over the next five years.
DHS has already purchased around 41 million rounds of ammunition this year alone, according to Nayak. Approximately $37 million in taxpayer dollars will be spent on ammunition purchases in the entirety of fiscal year 2013.
It’s “simply not true” that DHS is stockpiling ammunition, Nayak said in response to pointed questions from lawmakers.
Yes, well, under the AMMO Act, an agency covered by the legislation would not be permitted to purchase or store more ammunition than that agency retained on average between 2001 and 2009, according to an advance copy of the legislation provided to the Free Beacon.
So, thanks to the Republicans, the good old days are back! There’ll soon be ammo for everyone! Cases of it! Cheap! Or not.