[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Pages 8009-8011]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   CONSUMER ROCKET MOTOR PROPELLANTS

  Mr. ENZI. Madam President, I come to you today on behalf of students 
and 4-H members and Scouts around the world. Start counting backwards 
from 10 to zero: 10, 9, 8, 7--and depending on the context, people will 
instantly be reminded of their youth, sitting in front of a dimly lit 
television, watching a rocket take flight as we began the study of 
space flight and space travel. We were much younger then and all around 
me kids from all over the State and all around the country were excited 
and fascinated by the new age of rocketry and, later, space travel.

[[Page 8010]]

  When Russia launched its Sputnik, it created a sensation, and their 
success, spurred on by the climate of the cold war, challenged us in 
the United States to reach for the skies.
  Wyoming isn't called the Pioneer State for nothing, and so my 
classmates and I were determined we would do everything we could to 
learn about this new branch of science and involve ourselves in the 
race for space. It was not too long after that President John F. 
Kennedy issued a challenge to the Nation to land a man on the Moon and 
return him safely to Earth.
  What seemed to be against all the odds soon became reality when Neil 
Armstrong walked on the Moon, taking a small step for man and a giant 
leap for mankind.
  Even today, those of us who saw those events firsthand on the 
television will never forget what a miracle it was. It fired our 
imaginations as it taught the Nation a powerful lesson: If we can make 
this impossible dream come true for the Nation, of what more are we 
capable if we dare to try? Perhaps that lesson is what made our Nation 
what it is today and why we have continued to defy the odds of what is 
possible for us as a nation, and even for each of us as individuals.
  Then came September 11 and we, as a nation, faced another challenge. 
The call for increased security that resulted from those cowardly and 
cruel attacks has had some unforeseen consequences, however.
  One of them was brought to my attention when a constituent called to 
share his concern regarding the future of his favorite hobby, model 
rocketry. He said some of the restrictions of the Homeland Security Act 
could make it more difficult, if not impossible, for him and his fellow 
enthusiasts to purchase fuel for their model rockets.
  As I looked into his problem, I was surprised to see that the use of 
ammonium perchlorate composite propellant, better known as APCP, had 
caught the eye of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. 
Although it had been regulated in the past by its placement on the 
explosives list, the ATF had considered consumer rocket motors as 
propellant-activated devices and exempt from any ATF permit 
requirements.
  Then, in 1997, the ATF decided to regulate rocket motors that 
contained more than 62.5 grams of APCP. Those that contained less than 
that amount were still exempt, but those that contained more would not 
be available for interstate purchase and transport without a permit.
  Since many rocket enthusiasts travel from State to State to 
participate in their events, this provision could have made for a lot 
of needless redtape. To avoid it, many of those participating in this 
hobby carried their rocket bodies to the events and purchased the 
rocket motors from vendors at the local launch. With a little ingenuity 
and cooperation from local vendors, most rocketeers legally avoided the 
need to purchase and obtain permits.
  Now the provisions of the Homeland Security Act have created a new 
problem. Under the new law, a permit will be required for all rocket 
motors containing more than 62.5 grams of APCP, whether or not the 
motor is used in or out of State. And that begins on May 24 of this 
year--a problem rapidly approaching. The new law creates a problem 
where there was none before and imposes a solution that will only 
create unnecessary hardship for those who are studying about rockets or 
pursuing a hobby as a model rocket enthusiast.
  According to the U.S. Product Safety Commission, a rocket motor with 
less than 62.5 grams of APCP can be used by minors without adult 
supervision. That is the U.S. Product Safety Commission: 62.5 grams or 
less can be used by minors without adult supervision. It could not be 
very bad. Now a rocket with any more than that requires adult 
supervision and a permit. Such an arbitrary limit makes no sense when 
it means a 62-gram rocket can be used by your children out playing in a 
field with their friends, while another gram of fuel puts it in a 
category that requires adult supervision, Federal intervention, 
attention, inspection, and expensive, cumbersome permits.
  The permit that is required costs $100, and it requires the 
submission of fingerprints, a photograph, and a background check. 
Although the homeland security bill tried to introduce a limited permit 
that could be obtained for $25 and a background check, the newly 
designed permit is restricted to intrastate use and purchase only and 
would not have any use for rocketeers who travel to events in other 
States.
  My concern about the impact of these regulations, and the process 
necessary to obtain permits, and the bureaucracy that would be 
necessary to do that, and to fulfill the requirements for background 
checks is that it will certainly slow the participation of our young 
adults in studying rockets and pursuing their dreams of space travel.
  As I learned from my own experience--and I was one of those rocket 
people back at the time of Sputnik--the study of rockets had a ripple 
effect throughout my own education. It taught me a lot about math, when 
we had to calculate the amount of fuel we needed and the rate at which 
the rocket would travel at speed-calculating heights, figuring 
trajectories, figuring the amount of Gs that would be on a passenger. 
It taught us about the study of weather, as we would examine reports 
about our own launch date and temperature and cloud cover that would 
affect our ability to observe the launch, and weather balloons for 
measuring the winds aloft, to better tell where it would go, and to 
make the calculations about how high we were able to fly on any 
particular day.
  We invented much. When I started doing rockets, there were not the 
model rockets available at the hobby shops. We had to have the motors 
turned out at the local shop, after we designed them for the proper 
characteristics. It led to a lot of invention.
  It also expanded our horizons, as our experiences with rockets 
translated to our own lives. My friends and I often thought, if we 
could master the skies and heavens with our rockets, what more would we 
be able to do in our daily lives? It is an answer we are still 
developing as we each pursue paths in life--some very far away from 
rockets.
  As we grow older, we all want to make sure our children and our 
grandchildren have it better than we did. This is one area in which 
they will not have it better than we did--in fact, may not have it at 
all--if we fail to act. If we fail to come up with a reasonable 
compromise on this issue, we will have failed to fuel the dreams of the 
next generation in a vital field of science by our shortsighted efforts 
to regulate the fuel of the rockets.
  Our children will not be the only ones affected by this provision, 
however. The impact of this regulation will also be felt by the 
trucking industry which was recently told that it would be liable for 
the prevention of the possession of explosives by prohibited persons 
who are their employees. As some shippers do not currently do extensive 
background checks on their employees, they have decided to stop 
shipping the motors, including these rocket motors, at all.
  Although some companies will continue to ship rocket motors, they 
will charge very high hazardous material fees that would hit the 
consumers in the pocketbook. Small businesses will be hit hard by the 
fees which will have to be paid by the consumer, and even larger and 
more successful businesses will be unable to avoid the one-two punch of 
the permit process and the higher transportation and delivery fees.
  Even small businesses in other countries will feel the pinch. I was 
surprised to receive a call from the president of the United Kingdom's 
largest model rocket group. He thanked me for my interest in the issue 
because the U.S. ships most of the model rockets used in the United 
Kingdom. The supply of model rocket motors in other countries is 
limited, and their hobby is intricately linked with ours.
  To remedy these problems, I introduced S. 724 last week. My bill 
provides an exemption for permit requirements for the purchase and 
transport of rocket motors, including those with more than 62.5 grams 
of APCP.

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  In section 845 of the Federal explosives law, my bill provides an 
exemption from explosives permit requirements for the components of 
rocket motors. This exemption is similar to the exemption in the same 
section enjoyed by antique firearms users for black powder, as black 
powder also makes the explosives list. The limit there is 50 pounds; 
quite a bit different than 62.5 grams.
  The current language has been tightened up from the original draft to 
ensure that the exemption is only provided for valid uses. The language 
specifies that the exemption only applies to nondetonable rocket 
propellant--a very important word. There are some high-energy APCP 
composites that have additional chemicals in their composition that 
make them detonate instead of burning at a moderate rate. These are not 
used in amateur or sport rocketry and are not exempt under my language.
  The APCP my bill refers to, which is found in model rockets, burns 
but does not explode. In addition, the language in my bill does not 
exempt rockets that carry various components of weaponry.
  On the transportation issue, it appears that some companies are only 
shipping those articles that are specifically mentioned as exempt from 
explosives requirements under section 845. My bill provides the 
exemption for rocket motor components under this section, giving 
shippers a clear exemption to resume shipping rocket motors.
  I have been joined by Senators Bennett, Inhofe, Coleman, Crapo, 
Burns, Allard, and Santorum in introducing this bill.
  Some of my other colleagues have expressed concern that this 
legislation goes too far. They have questioned me about the possibility 
of individuals stockpiling APCP to build a bomb.
  First, I would contend that the ATF does not appear concerned about 
this possibility. Under their proposed 62.5-gram exemption, an 
individual would be able to buy as many rocket motors as they wanted 
that were under 62.5 grams.
  A rocket motor is fairly simple. I ask unanimous consent to show a 
three-dimensional object on the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. ENZI. I have one of those 62.5 gram rocket motors here. This is 
what is allowed to be bought in as much quantity as you want. But a 
quarter of an inch bigger than this and you can't have it without $100 
and a special permit. It is very simple, the fuel with the hole through 
the center. When you buy them, the APCP comes in this chunk that is 
removable from the rest of the rocket motor parts.
  If the ATF considers APCP a dangerous explosive, then their 62.5 gram 
exemption itself is dangerous. The ATF is basically saying it is OK to 
buy as many sticks of dynamite as you want, but we won't let you have a 
whole box. I reiterate that rocket motors compare more to flares than 
to dynamite. Hundreds of hours are spent constructing these rockets.
  A lot of work goes into the rocket body. Nobody wants to blow theirs 
apart. So they are a safe form of fuel.
  Simply put, my legislation is designed to allow another generation to 
experience the thrills and excitement of model rocketry. It is being 
introduced to correct a change in the law that Congress never intended. 
When we voted to take action to prevent the actions of terrorists, we 
never intended to prevent our children from pursuing projects in 
science class, hobbyists from pursuing their hobbies, and our families 
from engaging in father-son or mother-daughter or any mixture of 
projects that promote learning and the pursuit of the frontiers of 
space. If you have never been to a rocketry event or seen a rocket 
launch in person, I urge you to do so if the opportunity ever presents 
itself. If you have gone to one of those events, you will remember how 
it left you looking towards the heavens, mindful of your dreams, and 
feeling encouraged to pursue them.
  That is not a bad gift to give our children and theirs. It is 
extensive throughout the world, I can tell, from the calls I have 
gotten about this since I got involved in it.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in this effort which will have a 
great impact on our lives in the years to come.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Arizona.

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