I received an alert from NSSF on a bill before Congress that could potentially impact ammunition manufacturers in an adverse way. The Bill is a transportation safety bill known as H.R. 4016. The way the bill is currently written, it could potentially introduce serious delays into the supply chain for ammunition manufacturers, since several ammunition components are obviously hazardous materials.
NSSF is advocating for an amendment to the bill, offered by Representative Sam Graves from Missouri, that would, according to NSSF, “help protect the shipment of materials necessary for the manufacturing of ammunition. Without the Graves Amendment, the rate of production will slip, perhaps precipitously.”
The essential weakness with this bill is that it does not outline clear standards for DOT to measure the suitability of manufacturers to ship hazardous materials. Representative Graves’ amendment will force DOT to establish clear standards through the rule making process, which allows for public comment and input from affected parties, including ammunition manufacturers, and should help prevent arbitrary decision making on the part of the Department of Transportation that could essentially cause ammunition manufacturing to grind to a halt.
NSSF is asking folks to contact Congressman James Oberstar, who is the Chairman of the Transportation Committee, and urge him to support the Graves Amendment. Time is of the essence, since Oberstar has indicated that he’s going to bring this bill up for consideration in the Transportation Committee soon. The number for his DC office is (202) 225-6211.
In addition to Oberstar, one should check to see if their Congressman is on this committee. I did and found that Heath Shuler is on the Transportation Committee. He is good on the 2nd Amendment and I couched my note to him in those terms.