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March 17, 2009
Obama Administration policy to force ammo prices through the roof
This came to me today as an email from Rocky Mountain Gun Owners:
Defense Dept. to stop sale of once-fired brass
March 17, 2009 - We have verified through multiple sources that the Department of Defense is suspending the sale of all once-fired brass cartridge cases.
This will drastically reduce the availability of inexpensive ammunition, and is bound to drive up the already rising cost of ammunition.
From Georgia Arms:
"Effective immediately DOD Surplus, LLC, will be implementing new requirements for mutilation of fired shell casings. The new DRMS requirement calls for DOD Surplus personnel to witness the mutilation of the property and sign the Certificate of Destruction. Mutilation of the property can be done at the DRMO, if permitted by the Government, or it may be mutilated at a site chosen by the buyer. Mutilation means that the property will be destroyed to the extent prevents its reuse or reconstruction. DOD Surplus personnel will determine when property has been sufficiently mutilated to meet the requirements of the Government. "
What's at stake?
The price of target ammunition is not the only issue at stake. By mutilating once-fired brass cartridge cases, the government will lose 80% of the value of the cartridge cases as a commodity.According to Denver Bullet, a company that reloads once-fired military brass, a pound of once-fired government brass runs around $2.00, while that same pound of scrap brass sells for $0.35. With international commodity prices falling, the price of scrap brass could fall even lower. In addition to the loss of value of brass cartridge cases as a commodity, the government will pay to ship and melt the mutilated once-fired brass to smelting furnaces in places like Alabama.
This massive mismanagement of taxpayer funds is clearly a policy decision driven by the Obama Administration's war on gun owners, rather than sound fiscal policy.
What you can do?
Contact your member of congress and members of the Armed Services Committee.Congressional Democrats are very conscious of their position with gun owners. This makes them even more conscious of the demands and desires of their constituents. Many attribute the 1994 Republican take over of Congress to gun owners outrage over the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban.
From the New York Times:
But there is one issue that retains the power to leave Democrats quivering: gun rights. Gun issues still persistently tie the party in knots and have been used by Republicans to stall two major bills this year, with more likely to come.
"It is a hot-button issue," said Representative Allen Boyd, Democrat of Florida, a longtime hunter and one of the moderates who typically split from the more liberal wing of the party to support the rights of gun owners. "Some people around here know they can use it as a wedge issue, and they try to do that."
It is a particularly hot-button topic with veteran Congressional Democrats who believe the party's strong support for a 1994 assault weapons ban was the real reason they lost control of the House that year -- not the House bank scandal, the failed health care initiative, the Contract with America or Newt Gingrich.
When you contact your member of Congress, tell them that taxpayers and gun owners deserve more than platitudes and policy driven grudges from the Obama Administration.
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Colorado's Congressional Delegation
Senators:
Senator Mark Udall
Party: Democrat
Address:B40E Dirksen Senate Office Bldg., Washington, DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-5941
Fax: (202) 224-6471
E-mail: http://markudall.senate.gov/contact/contact.cfm
Senator Mike Bennett
Party: Democrat
Address: 702 Hart Senate Office Bldg., Washington, DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-5852
Fax: (202) 224-5036
E-mail: http://bennet.senate.gov/public/?p=3DTransitionalSiteEmailSenatorB=
ennet
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U.S. House of Representatives:
Representative Diana DeGette
District: 1
Party: Democrat
Address: 2421 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-4431
Fax: (202) 225-5657
E-mail: http://www.house.gov/formdegette/zip_auth.htm
Representative Jared Polis
District: 2
Party: Democrat
Address:501 Cannon House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-2161
Fax: (202) 226-7840
E-mail: http://polis.house.gov/Contact/
Representative John Salazar
District: 3
Party: Democrat
Address: 326 Cannon House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-4761
Fax: (202) 226-9669
E-mail: http://www.house.gov/salazar/contact.shtml
District Office Information
Representative Betsy Markey
District: 4
Party: Democrat
Address: 1229 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-4676
Fax: (202) 225-5870
E-mail: https://forms.house.gov/betsymarkey/contact-form.shtml
Representative Doug Lamborn (a member of Armed Services)
District: 5
Party: Republican
Address: 437 Cannon House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-4422
Fax: (202) 226-2638
E-mail: http://lamborn.house.gov/ZipAuth.aspx
Representative Mike Coffman
District: 6
Party: Republican
Address: 1508 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-7882
Fax: (202) 226-4623
E-mail: https://forms.house.gov/coffman/contact-form.shtml
Representative Ed Perlmutter
District: 7
Party: Democrat
Address: 415 Cannon House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-2645
Fax: (202) 225-5278
E-mail: http://perlmutter.house.gov/IMA/issue_subscribe.htm
To contact the Members of the House Armed Services Committee:
http://armedservices.house.gov/list_of_members.shtml
Posted by Rob Kiser on March 17, 2009 at 11:41 AM
Comments
See Bill's Idle Mind for an update.
"I wrote the surplus property agency and asked what was going on, and got a reply today."
Posted by: Robert R. on March 18, 2009 at 7:23 PM
Looks like we won this one...for now anyway.
Posted by: Rob Kiser on March 19, 2009 at 9:45 PM