Freedom Outpost – by Tim Brown
Just a couple of days ago, I reported on two congressmen who were demanding that the Department of Homeland Security explain their solicitations of 1.6 billion bullets for purchase. Congressman Leonard Lance (R-NJ) and Representative Timothy Huelscamp (R-KS) both want answers to why DHS needs to be purchasing that much ammunition, seeing that they are a domestic agency. Congressman Doug LaMalfa (R-CA) along with 14 other House representatives have written a letter to DHS wanting to know what the Federal agency is buying so many rounds of ammunition and whether or not they are doing it deliberately to restrict the supply to the American people.
That’s right friends. With the main stream wanting to poo poo this story, it is finally making its way to House Representatives and there are finally voices calling for accountability.
“The extraordinary level of ammunition purchases made by Homeland Security seems to have, in states such as my own, created an extreme shortage of ammunition to the point where many gun owners are unable to purchase any,” LaMalfa wrote in the letter.
LaMalfa pointed out that there are spending cuts, which I’ve pointed out are not any real cuts, across the board, so he wants to know why nearly 2 billion rounds of ammunition, enough for a 24 year war, were being solicited by DHS. “In light of these developments, the lack of transparency and questions that have been raised pertaining to these purchases,” Representative LaMalfa asked the following of DHS:
- For what purpose is the Department of Homeland Security purchasing over 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition?
- How many rounds of ammunition does Homeland Security currently have in its possession?
- Is the current level of ammunition purchases by the Department in line with previous levels of ammunition purchases made by the Department?
- In response to inquiries into these purchases, why has the Department redacted, blacked out, or classified certain sections of its solicitations that had been previously available to the public?
- Are these purchases being conducted in a manner that strategically denies the American people access to ammunition?
- How much has Homeland Security spent purchasing ammunition within the last year when it was clear the department was likely to face a budget cut? Please include planned expenditures for current bid solicitations in this figure.
The letter was signed by fifteen members of Congress, including LaMalfa.
Not only has this hurt law enforcement, as some have had to restrict their use of ammunition, as well as how much police officers are allowed to carry, but it has led for an increased demand in the marketplace. With that said, we must take into account how the market works. Part of the reasons for ammunition and gun availability is due to citizen’s run on both following the 2012 elections (and yes, the numbers are clear that fraud was committed, but is anyone doing anything about it?).
The Congressman and his staff were traveling Thursday and according to his office they are back in California, so he was unavailable to comment himself to Freedom Outpost.
Rick Greco, who is a Redding Gun shop owner, said he was troubled by “panic buying” due to proposed gun legislation. “Gun control (talks) have the reverse effect,” Greco said. “They say they are going to try to protect us by taking our guns away. It doesn’t make sense. All that does is it fuels the sense that ‘I better buy now because I might not be able to later.’”
While the Federal government said last month that the munitions purchases for Homeland Security that are to be purchased over the next four to five years are for law enforcement agents that are training and on duty, LaMalfa is suspicious, as we all are with this administration.
The Federal solicitations to purchase ammunition are known as “strategic sourcing contracts.” These help ensure a low price for a large purchase.
One thing that should not be overlooked in all of this is that Barack Obama did say that he thought he should have a “civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well funded” as the military. Take into account that Obama’s DHS graduated its first group of FEMA corps, reminiscent of Hitler’s Brown Shirts, back in September, 2012.
What if a citizen stockpiled an unusually large amount (millions of rounds of hollow point) bullets. Do you think DHS, FBI, CIA or whomever, would want w reason or an accounting for such a large amount? I think the government would think a terrorist attack was imminent. I wonder if the average , aware American thinks the same about DHS’s large purchase with taxpayer funds?
Considering it would take one person, firing 2 rounds per second, 24/7 nearly 6 days straight to burn up a stockpile of 1,000,000 bullets, then yes, it would be odd. On the other hand, it would be quite straightforward destroying the evidence and take less than a week with some effort, and the brass alone at 3 cents a cartridge, much less than the going rate, would be worth a nominal years’ salary (after tax) or at least worth a comfy home deposit.
Regarding the Ammo purchase causing a shortage in every caliber, it doesn’t make sense unless there is only one manufacturing facility being used. My understanding is that the ammo is being sourced worldwide.
Considering that, for example Remington is only being used for a fraction of the order, there should be plenty of bullets available from them and vendors like them in other calibers. There is something else going on.
Time to trace who really owns the companies making the Ammo? Is it uncle George?
There is no shortage of brass, nor nitrocellulose, nor copper, nor lead, nor the various chemicals used to make primers.
hopefully we will get answears publicly and not from some closed door hearing
Were they merely trying to dry up the pool of ammo they would not be buying dum-dums.
Bolshevik “Jews” have no Authority and are not “Government”.
http://adask.wordpress.com/2013/03/21/the-congressional-inquiry-dance/
at LAW words have specific meanings and are not flexible to allow a braindeadgoy “JEW” worshipping moron to describe EVIL as GOOD.
They might if they were merely trying to dry up the pool of “dum-dums” to use a British colonial term.
But Yes, hollow points cost roughly 33% more than ball/fmj for a given manufacturer and caliber.
No point buying them for training. And using them in “non international armed conflict” constitutes a war crime as agreed at the Kampala Review Conference. So if DHS will not be using them for training, and not for committing war crimes, then what?
Also, trying to restrict the supply of a readily manufacturable product by buying lots of it from a small group of vendors, or a single contractor seems a silly way to go about it for a government. Just makes bigger opportunities for the other vendors.
Besides WWII, when was the last time there was a trial over a “War Crime”? They don’t care.
These gigantic ammo purchases are all “IDIQ” contracts (indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity). The key is in the fine print, a clause which gives the government absolute priority in manufacturing capacity if and when the ammo is called for. Ammo in these amounts delivered to one entity (the Feds) could choke off deliveries to anyone else.
So, if the Feds are not currently taking actual delivery of this ammo, who is causing the shortages? The answer is, we are. Americans are buying and stockpiling ammo so fast the industry can’t keep up with us.
These Fed contracts are a reaction to the open knowledge that citizens are arming for collapse and civil war. They are an attempt to scare us, on the cheap, by floating contracts for insanely large counter-purchases of ammo. But they have not taken physical possession of this ammo, it’s just numbers on paper. By contrast, WE have taken physical possession of the ammo we’ve purchased, as evidenced by the empty shelves that are staying empty even as fast as new ammo gets shipped in.
This whole thing is a publicity stunt; they bluffed and we called it.
Why would a private contractor want such a government contract? The profit margin is so thin it does little more than cover the cost of keeping the machines running.