US senators introduce bill to prevent government departments from stockpiling ammo

Thursday, May 02, 2013 by: J. D. Heyes

(NaturalNews) - In the wake of revelations - thanks in every way to the alternative media - that the Department of Homeland Security had planned to purchase and stockpile as much as 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition, a pair of U.S. lawmakers are proposing legislation that would prevent all government agencies from storing vast amounts of ammo.

Sens. Jim Inhofe, and Rep. Frank Lucas, both Oklahoma Republicans, have introduced in their respective chambers the Ammunition Management for More Obtainability (AMMO) Act of 2013.

The bill, according to a statement from Sen. Inhofe, would require the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a report on the purchasing of ammunition by federal agencies, except the Department of Defense, and its effect on the supply of ammunition available to the public.

The act would also restrict government agencies from obtaining additional ammunition for a six-month period if the agency's current ammo stockpiles are "higher than its monthly averages prior to the Obama Administration."

"President Obama has been adamant about curbing law-abiding Americans' access and opportunities to exercise their Second Amendment rights," said Inhofe. "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."

'I was surprised'

Continuing, Inhofe said:

As the public learned in a House committee hearing this week, the Department of Homeland Security has two years worth of ammo on hand and allots nearly 1,000 more rounds of ammunition for DHS officers than is used on average by our Army officers. The AMMO Act of 2013 will enforce transparency and accountability of federal agencies' ammunition supply while also protecting law-abiding citizens access to these resources.

Lucas said his interest in the issue was piqued after constituents reported that there were shortages of ammunition in his home state, and "the Department of Homeland Security's profligate purchases of ammunition."

"We have introduced the AMMO Act of 2013 to curtail these purchases so Americans can exercise their Second Amendment rights without being encumbered by the federal government," Lucas said. "I was surprised to find out the DHS has the right to buy up to 750 million rounds of ammunition over the next five years, while it already has two years worth of ammo already. This is an issue that must be addressed, and I am pleased this legislation provides us the opportunity to do so."

DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano has vacillated between denying her office was buying so much ammo to questioning the motive of those who reported the purchases and questioned her and the department about them.

Taking such massive purchases seriously

A year ago, NaturalNews editor and founder Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, reported on the first of what would become a series of massive ammo purchases by DHS. As he tracked the story for months, DHS was at first silent about the purchases, then denied they were occurring, despite the federal purchase orders posted online. Anyone who reported the purchases was branded a "conspiracy theorist."

Fast forward to this month, and DHS is signing a completely different tune. Now, we are told, the purchases are just good business; buying in bulk, you see, saves the taxpayer money. Call this the "Sam’s Club" excuse.

An important point about this "buy-in-bulk-to-save-money" BS. Napolitano says her agency is supplying nearly 100,000 armed agents and they use the ammo for practice. Only, the bulk of these purchases involves expensive hollow point ammunition. Seasoned shooters will tell you that you don't "target practice" with hollow point ammunition.

There's no telling at this point if the Inhofe-Lucas legislation will pass, but it's an important piece of this government ammo purchase puzzle in that at least some lawmakers are taking it seriously.