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SALT LAKE CITY — In response to government agencies purchasing significant amounts of ammunition, Republicans from both the House and Senate have introduced a bill to "fix" the problem.
Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., and Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Okla., authored the bill known as the Ammunition Management for More Obtainability Act, or AMMO act, which will provide more "transparency and accountability" regarding government stockpiling.
The bill would prohibit government agencies — excluding the military — from buying more ammunition each month than what they purchased on average from 2001 to 2009.
Earlier this year, the Department of Homeland Security issued a request for more than 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition. The DHS said the ammunition would be purchased over the course of four or five years for the training of field agents, using what is called "strategic sourcing contracts." The contracts in question allow the government to purchase large amounts of ammunition at a lower price.
Inhofe said the Obama administration is buying up all ammunition in an effort to limit the amount of bullets the American public can be sold.
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"President Obama has been adamant about curbing law-abiding Americans' access and opportunities to exercise their Second Amendment rights," Inhofe told the Washington Free Beacon. "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."
Many gun advocates have echoed the sentiment of Inhofe. Following the shooting of 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., firearm retailers saw a significant surge in gun sales, but had problems keeping ammunition in stock — even simple .22 rounds.
"We just denied everything that this president and the vice president are trying to do," Inhofe said on Laura Ingraham's radio show Monday. "So what are they going to do if they want to, if they want to violate our Second Amendment rights? Do it with ammo."
Speaking about the DHS's reason for stockpiling ammunition, Inhofe said the government doesn't need that volume of ammunition: "They don't, and that's the point."
"I don't know how (Napolitano) or anyone else can deny this is going on. All you have to do is go to any of the places in Oklahoma out where I am," Inhofe said. "I went down to Texas, I tried places down there — no one has any ammo. It's supply and demand, they're taking it all up."
