Why is Homeland Security buying so much ammo?

[caradoc]

http://news.investors.com/politics-andrew-malcolm/020813-643707-obama-homeland-security-vast-ammunition-purchases.htm

"...According to one estimate, just since last spring DHS has stockpiled more than 1.6 billion bullets, mainly .40 caliber and 9mm. That's sufficient firepower to shoot every American about five times. Including illegal immigrants.

To provide some perspective, experts estimate that at the peak of the Iraq war American troops were firing around 5.5 million rounds per month. At that rate, DHS is armed now for a 24-year Iraq war..."

[Bookert1905]

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2012/03/30/why-is-homeland-security-buying-450-million-rounds-of-hollow-point-bullets/

Bought 200 million in 09 and they didn't start killing people so go conspiracy somewhere else.

[caradoc]

Conspiracy my ass.  Dollars have been spent.  If not on bullets then what?  Take a Google street view of the address of the "Evian" group that got the latest contract.  Note the 50% discount on standard ammo prices granted.  This reeks to high heaven.  But I guess I can stick my head the same place you stick yours and say "what difference does it make?!?!?"

[dbucfan]

Damn sure isn't coming through on a campaign promise.  Wonder what our resident anti-gun folks would make of this.

[VinBucFan]

Conspiracy my ass.  Dollars have been spent.  If not on bullets then what?  Take a Google street view of the address of the "Evian" group that got the latest contract.  Note the 50% discount on standard ammo prices granted.  This reeks to high heaven.  But I guess I can stick my head the same place you stick yours and say "what difference does it make?!?!?"

doc, what do you think is going on?

[VinBucFan]

Damn sure isn't coming through on a campaign promise.  Wonder what our resident anti-gun folks would make of this.

does the comment in bold mean you think its a sign they are coming to get us or maybe arming up in case we come to get them?

[VinBucFan]

Could it be gun control by proxy?

http://www.offthegridnews.com/2012/04/30/whos-to-blame-for-the-rising-costs-of-ammunition/

Are 9mm and 40 cal popular rounds? I presume so on the 9mm

This article suggests an inflation hedge? Boy would that conflict with the Admin's gun control stance:

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/12/prweb10248463.htm

[dalbuc]

Government agency has budget and has to spend. Back in the 80s HHS burned their excess buying enough coffee to last until the sun went nova so this is actually a tad smarter than that.

[spartan]

If so, this is one reason why nobody can find anywhere to cut the budget. If you do not spend all of this years budget, next years is reduced by that amount. There is a warped kind of logic to it, but it doesn't factor in a raising cost of living and it encourages people NOT to spend wisely.

[dalbuc]

If so, this is one reason why nobody can find anywhere to cut the budget. If you do not spend all of this years budget, next years is reduced by that amount. There is a warped kind of logic to it, but it doesn't factor in a raising cost of living and it encourages people NOT to spend wisely.

This is exactly how it works at almost all levels of government. There is no incentive for the managers to not spend every cent and so you see departments regularly buying new furniture almost every year or copious amounts of office supplies.  I know a popular move at the university where my wife works is to buy one of those pod based coffee machines this year and a ton of pods.

[VinBucFan]

http://news.yahoo.com/homeland-security-cache-bullets-190840538.html

[dbucfan]

save the 1.5 billion dollars and shut down Homeland Security - we don't need yet another branch of the government armed and dangerous

there's 180000 folks in that agency - from what has posted on this board they all should have their own guns and ammo... if they don't fire and hire someone who does.