The US Department of Homeland Security has bought 360,000 rounds of hollow point bullets, in addition to over 1.5 billion rounds bought last year. Congress has questioned the purpose of the ammo, while the DHS claimed it bought in bulk to economize.
The federal agency’s purchasing plan is detailed on the Federal Business
Opportunities page. The 360,000 bullets were ordered only a month
after 240,000 rounds of ammunition arrived at the same Federal Law
Enforcement Training Center in Artesia, New Mexico.
Despite claims by DHS that the ammunition is being bought in
bulk to save money, experts say hollow point bullets are almost
twice as expensive as full metal jacket rounds.
The DHS plans to buy more than 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition
over the next four or five years .As for the hollow point bullets,
they are allegedly purchased for training. However, former Marine
Richard Mason told WHPTV news, “We never trained with hollow
points, we didn’t even see hollow points my entire four-and-a-half
years in the Marine Corps.”
Marines have also expressed concern over the extent of the DHS
purchasing spree, with Marine Corps Commandant James F. Amos saying
that soldiers are frequently forced to save bullets, according to
WND.com.
Congress is currently questioning DHS over the purchase, with
Kansas Congressman Timothy Huelscamp pointing out that the
government should threaten to curb DHS funding unless it explains
why the bullets were purchased, Infowars.com reported.
This comes amid sequester cuts signed by President Obama three
weeks ago, with $85 billion to be slashed from this year’s budget
and funding for a number of government departments slashed
immediately; almost half of those cuts will be imposed on the
Pentagon.