[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 117 (Friday, September 10, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10736-S10737]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       ARMOR PIERCING AMMUNITION

 Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, two of my colleagues in the House of 
Representatives, Representative Blagojevich and Representative Waxman, 
asked the Office of Special Investigations within the General 
Accounting Office (GAO) to investigate the manufacture and distribution 
of fifty caliber armor piercing ammunition, some of the most

[[Page S10737]]

powerful and destructive ammunition available. This investigation made 
public a little known program administered by the Department of Defense 
that makes unserviceable, excess and obsolete military ammunition 
available for civilian use.
  Under the Conventional Demilitarization Program, military armor 
piercing ammunition is transferred through a U.S. Company to the 
civilian market. This ammunition is powerful enough to penetrate metal, 
ballistic or bullet-proof glass, even armored cars or helicopters. With 
use of the fifty caliber sniper rifle, this ammunition can start fires 
and explosions and strike targets from extraordinary lengths. This is 
ammunition that is in no way suitable for civilian use. According to 
James Schmidt II, the President of Arizona Ammunition Inc. and a member 
of the Board of Directors for the Fifty Caliber Shooters Association, 
``the armor piercing, incendiary, and tracer type bullets are used by 
the police and military. Those available to the consumer are generally 
surplus. Our company does not sell these to the general public because 
they have no sporting application.''
  Yet, through the Conventional Demilitarization Program, the 
Department of Defense makes their surplus available to the general 
public. The Department pays Talon Manufacturing Company $1 per ton to 
take possession of its demilitarized armor piercing ammunition. A 
percentage of this ammunition is then reconstructed and resold by Talon 
to domestic and foreign militaries, and to civilian buyers. In one 
business year, Talon sold 181,000 rounds of this refurbished military 
ammunition to civilian customers.
  Once available on the market, this extremely powerful ammunition is 
subject to virtually no restriction. It is easier to purchase armor 
piercing ammunition capable of penetrating steel and exploding on 
impact, than it is to buy a handgun. This deadly and incredibly 
damaging ammunition can be sold to anyone over 18 and possessed by 
anyone of any age. No federal background check is necessary. Purchases 
may be made easily by mail order, fax, or over the counter, and there 
are no federal requirements that dealers retain sales records. These 
loose restrictions make armor piercing ammunition highly popular among 
terrorists, drug traffickers and violent criminals.
  Certainly, the U.S. Military is not responsible for all of the armor 
piercing ammunition on the civilian market, but they are responsible 
for hundreds of thousands of armor piercing, incendiary and tracer 
rounds made available to the general public each year. I am an original 
cosponsor of legislation that would prohibit the Department of Defense 
from entering into contracts that permit demilitarized armor piercing 
ammunition to be sold to the general public. I urge my colleagues to 
support this bill and put an end to this program.

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