By PAUL BEDARD (@SECRETSBEDARD) • 7/6/16 11:34 AM
The federal government has spent $1.5 billion on guns and ammo since 2006, and lost nearly 1,000 weapons along the way, including Uzis, assault rifles, and grenade launchers, according to the House Oversight Committee chairman.
In a hearing to urge tightened controls of weapons, Rep. Jason Chaffetz, chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said, "The loss of single firearm is cause for concern – the loss of what amounts to roughly five a month is unacceptable."
The hearing was triggered by internal reports of missing guns and the 2015 theft of a weapon assigned to a Bureau of Land Management officer which was allegedly used the 2015 San Francisco slaying of Kate Steinle by an illegal immigrant.
In his opening statement, Chaffetz detailed the list of weapons missing and the money spent on guns and ammo by the federal government. From his statement:
— Government-wide federal agencies purchased roughly $1.5 billion worth of firearms, munitions, and equipment between 2006 and 2014.
— GSA was trying to maintain an inventory of surplus firearms around the country with only an excel and it lost 485 firearms, including grenade launchers, Uzis, and assault rifles.
— In February 2016, multiple news agencies reported that during a 31-month period—between 2012 and 2015—Homeland Security lost 165 firearms, along with more than a thousand badges and credentials. When the committee reviewed documents for losses between 2012 and 2015, it was discovered the number of lost firearms actually exceeded 220, including at least one firearm known to have been later used in a violent crime.
— In 2010, the DHS Inspector General found that between fiscal years 2006 and 2008, the agency lost roughly 289 firearms. That means that in just seven years, DHS has lost more than 500 firearms.