Washington Times
April 25, 2013
Tight budgets are forcing the Homeland Security Department to buy less ammunition, two top officials are slated to tell Congress on Thursday as the House oversight committee continues investigating the Obama administration’s ammunition purchases.
Despite the potential for cuts, the department still reported stockpiling more than 260 million rounds of ammunition as of November 2012 — a two-year supply, according to information provided to the committee ahead of a hearing on Thursday.
Reports that some agencies had signed contracts for huge quantities of ammunition made the rounds of the Internet earlier this year, sparking an outcry from some corners and forcing the administration to deny reports it was stockpiling.
Since then, top officials — including Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano — have fought back. She said the contract that garnered so much attention was an “up-to” agreement that was designed to last for years, not an immediate purchase.
Several top officials are slated to tell the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Thursday that the department saves money by signing big long-term contracts, but will also say the purchases could be curtailed given belt-tightening.
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