Shown here are Federal Premium hollow point
bullets. (AP)
Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz said
Thursday that the Department of Homeland
Security is using roughly 1,000 rounds of
ammunition more per person than the U.S.
Army, as he and other lawmakers sharply
questioned DHS officials on their "massive"
bullet buys.
"It is entirely ... inexplicable why the
Department of Homeland Security needs so
much ammunition," Chaffetz, R-Utah, said at
a hearing.
The hearing itself was unusual, as
questions about the department's ammunition
purchases until recently had bubbled largely
under the radar -- on blogs and in the
occasional news article. But as the
Department of Homeland Security found itself
publicly defending the purchases, lawmakers
gradually showed more interest in the
issue.
Democratic Rep. John Tierney, D-Mass., at
the opening of the hearing, ridiculed the
concerns as "conspiracy theories" which have
"no place" in the committee room.
But Republicans said the purchases raise
"serious" questions about waste and
accountability.
Chaffetz, who chairs one of the House
oversight subcommittees holding the hearing
Thursday, revealed that the department
currently has more than 260 million rounds
in stock. He said the department bought more
than 103 million rounds in 2012 and used 116
million that same year -- among roughly
70,000 agents.
Comparing that with the small-arms
purchases procured by the U.S. Army, he said
the DHS is churning through between 1,300
and 1,600 rounds per officer, while the U.S.
Army goes through roughly 350 rounds per
soldier.
He noted that is "roughly 1,000 rounds
more per person."
"Their officers use what seems to be an
exorbitant amount of ammunition," he said.
Nick Nayak, chief procurement officer for
the Department of Homeland Security, did not
challenge Chaffetz's numbers.
However, Nayak sought to counter what he
described as several misconceptions about
the bullet buys.
Despite reports that the department was
trying to buy up to 1.6 billion rounds over
five years, he said that is not true. He
later clarified that the number is closer to
750 million.
He said the department, on average, buys
roughly 100 million rounds per year.
He also said claims that the department
is stockpiling ammo are "simply not true."
Further, he countered claims that the
purchases are helping create broader
ammunition shortages in the U.S.
The department has long said it needs the
bullets for agents in training and on duty,
and buys in bulk to save money.
While Democrats likened concerns about
the purchases to conspiracy theories,
Republicans raised concern about the sheer
cost of the ammunition.
"This is not about conspiracy theories,
this is about good government," Rep. Jim
Jordan, R-Ohio, said.
Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., who chairs
the full Oversight and Government Reform
Committee, said he suspects rounds are being
stockpiled, and then either "disposed of,"
passed to non-federal agencies, or shot
"indiscriminately."
If that is the case, he said, "then shame
on you."
©2013 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights
reserved.