I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 6172 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to prevent bulk sales of ammunition, 

promote recordkeeping and reporting about ammunition, end ammunition 

straw purchasing, and require a background check before the transfer 

of ammunition by certain Federal firearms licensees to non-licensees. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 2, 2023 

Mr. ROBERT GARCIA of California (for himself and Ms. WASSERMAN

SCHULTZ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to prevent bulk 

sales of ammunition, promote recordkeeping and reporting about ammunition, end ammunition straw purchasing, and require a background check before the 

transfer of ammunition by certain Federal firearms licensees to non-licensees. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ammunition Mod5 ernization and Monitoring Oversight Act’’ or the ‘‘AMMO 

6 Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FEDERAL LICENSE REQUIRED TO DEAL IN AMMUNI2 TION. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 922(a)(1)(B) of title 18, 

4 United States Code, is amended— 

5 (1) by striking ‘‘or licensed manufacturer’’ and 

6 inserting ‘‘licensed manufacturer, or licensed deal7 er’’; and 

8 (2) by striking ‘‘or manufacturing’’ and insert9 ing ‘‘manufacturing, or dealing in’’. 

10 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

11 (1) DEFINITION OF DEALER.—Section 

12 921(a)(11)(A) of such title is amended by inserting 

13 ‘‘or ammunition’’ after ‘‘firearms’’. 

14 (2) LICENSE FEE.—Section 923(a)(3)(B) of 

15 such title is amended by striking ‘‘who is not a deal16 er in destructive devices’’ and inserting ‘‘in firearms 

17 other than destructive devices or ammunition for 

18 firearms other than destructive devices’’. 

19 SEC. 3. AMMUNITION RECORDKEEPING REQUIREMENT 

20 FOR CERTAIN LICENSEES. 

21 Section 923(g)(1) of title 18, United States Code, is 

22 amended— 

23 (1) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘or am24 munition’’ after ‘‘firearms’’; and 


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1 (2) in each of subparagraphs (B)(iii) and 

2 (C)(ii), by inserting ‘‘, or of ammunition,’’ after 

3 ‘‘firearms’’. 

4 SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON STRAW PURCHASE OF AMMUNI5 TION. 

6 Section 932 of title 18, United States Code, is 

7 amended in each of subsections (b) and (c)(2), by insert8 ing ‘‘or ammunition’’ after ‘‘firearm’’ each place it ap9 pears. 

10 SEC. 5. RESTRICTION ON BULK AMMUNITION SALES. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 922 of title 18, United 

12 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(aa)(1) It shall be unlawful for any person licensed 

15 under this chapter to transfer to a person not so li16 censed— 

17 ‘‘(A) more than 100 rounds of .50 caliber am18 munition or more than 1,000 rounds of any other 

19 caliber of ammunition in any period of 5 consecutive 

20 days; or 

21 ‘‘(B) any ammunition if— 

22 ‘‘(i) the transferee has not provided to the 

23 transferor a written certification, signed by the 

24 transferee, attesting that the purchase of the 

25 ammunition would not result in the transferee 


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1 having acquired more than 100 rounds of .50 

2 caliber ammunition or more than 1,000 rounds 

3 of any other caliber of ammunition, in the 5- 

4 day period ending with the date of the transfer; 

5 or 

6 ‘‘(ii) the transferor knows or has reason to 

7 believe that the transfer would result in the 

8 transferee having acquired more than 100 

9 rounds of .50 caliber ammunition or more than 

10 1,000 rounds of any other caliber of ammuni11 tion, in the 5-day period ending with the date 

12 of the transfer. 

13 ‘‘(2)(A) It shall be unlawful for a person licensed 

14 under this chapter to transfer ammunition to a person not 

15 so licensed, unless the transferee— 

16 ‘‘(i) has presented to the licensee a valid identi17 fication document (as defined in section 1028(d)) on 

18 which appears— 

19 ‘‘(I) the name and address of the trans20 feree; 

21 ‘‘(II) a number unique to the transferee; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(III) the signature of the transferee; and 

24 ‘‘(ii) has entered the name, address, and signa25 ture of the transferee on, and otherwise completed, 


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1 such form as the Attorney General shall prescribe, 

2 which shall include the written certification de3 scribed in paragraph (1)(B), and a statement of the 

4 penalties for violating this subsection. 

5 ‘‘(B) It shall be unlawful for any person in connection 

6 with the purchase or attempted purchase of ammunition 

7 to knowingly make any false or fictitious oral or written 

8 statement or to furnish or exhibit any false, fictitious, or 

9 misrepresented identification, intended or likely to deceive 

10 the seller with respect to any fact material to the lawful11 ness of the sale of the ammunition under this chapter. 

12 ‘‘(C)(i) Within 30 calendar days after the date a per13 son licensed under this chapter transfers ammunition in 

14 a transaction subject to paragraph (1), the licensee shall 

15 transmit to the Attorney General a paper or electronic 

16 copy of the form completed by the transferee pursuant to 

17 subparagraph (A) of this paragraph. 

18 ‘‘(ii) The Attorney General shall determine, on the 

19 basis of the forms transmitted pursuant to clause (i) of 

20 this subparagraph, whether a transfer of ammunition has 

21 been made in violation of paragraph (1)(A). 

22 ‘‘(iii) Within 60 days after receipt of a form pursuant 

23 to clause (i), the Attorney General shall destroy the form 

24 unless the form is needed in an ongoing bona fide criminal 

25 investigation or prosecution. 


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1 ‘‘(D) A licensee who transfers ammunition in a trans2 action subject to paragraph (1) shall keep the form re3 ferred to in subparagraph (C) of this paragraph in paper 

4 or electronic form for not fewer than 2 years.’’. 

5 (b) PENALTIES.—Section 924(a) of such title is 

6 amended by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(9)(A) A person licensed under this chapter who 

8 knowingly violates paragraph (1) or (2)(A) of section 

9 922(aa) shall be fined not less than $50,000 and not more 

10 than $250,000, and— 

11 ‘‘(i) in the case of the 2nd such violation by the 

12 person, the person shall be prohibited from selling a 

13 firearm or ammunition for 60 days; or 

14 ‘‘(ii) in the case of the 3rd such violation by the 

15 person, all licenses issued to the person under this 

16 chapter shall be revoked. 

17 ‘‘(B) A person who knowingly violates section 

18 922(aa)(2)(B) shall be— 

19 ‘‘(i) fined not more than— 

20 ‘‘(I) $20,000, in the case of the 1st such 

21 violation by the person; or 

22 ‘‘(II) $50,000, in the case of any subse23 quent such violation by the person; 

24 ‘‘(ii) imprisoned not more than 5 years; or 

25 ‘‘(iii) both. 


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1 ‘‘(C) Whoever knowingly violates subparagraph (C)(i) 

2 or (D) of section 922(aa)(2) shall be fined not more than 

3 $10,000.’’. 

4 (c) SIGNAGE REQUIREMENT.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 923(g) of such title 

6 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(8) Each person licensed under this chapter shall 

8 post at the premises of the licensee subject to the license 

9 a sign on which there is set forth, in accordance with regu10 lations prescribed by the Attorney General— 

11 ‘‘(A) a summary of paragraphs (1) and (2)(B) 

12 of section 922(aa), and the penalties for making 

13 false statements on a written certification made pur14 suant to section 922(aa)(1)(B)(i); and 

15 ‘‘(B) a summary of the provisions of section 

16 932 relating to ammunition, and the penalties for 

17 violating those provisions.’’. 

18 (2) PENALTY.—Section 924 of such title is 

19 amended by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(q) CIVIL PENALTY FOR FAILURE OF LICENSEE TO

21 POST SIGN ABOUT RESTRICTIONS ON AMMUNITION

22 SALES.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

24 ‘‘(A) CIVIL PENALTY.—With respect to 

25 each violation of section 923(g)(8) by a person 


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1 licensed under this chapter, the Attorney Gen2 eral may, after notice and opportunity for hear3 ing, subject the licensee to a civil penalty in an 

4 amount equal to $10,000. 

5 ‘‘(B) REVIEW.—An action under this para6 graph may be reviewed only as provided under 

7 section 923(f). 

8 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE REMEDIES.—The imposi9 tion of a civil penalty under paragraph (1) shall not 

10 preclude any administrative remedy that is otherwise 

11 available to the Attorney General.’’. 

12 SEC. 6. BACKGROUND CHECK REQUIRED BEFORE TRANS13 FER OF AMMUNITION BY CERTAIN FEDERAL 

14 FIREARMS LICENSEES TO NON-LICENSEES. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 922 of title 18, United 

16 States Code, is amended— 

17 (1) by striking subsection (s) and redesignating 

18 subsection (t) as subsection (s); 

19 (2) in subsection (s) (as so redesignated)— 

20 (A) in paragraph (1)(B)(i), by inserting 

21 ‘‘indicating that the receipt of a firearm or am22 munition by such other person would not violate 

23 subsection (g) or (n) of this section, or State, 

24 local, or Tribal law’’ before the semicolon; 


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1 (B) in paragraph (3)(C)(ii), by striking 

2 ‘‘(as defined in subsection (s)(8))’’; and 

3 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(7) In this subsection, the term ‘chief law enforce5 ment officer’ means the chief of police, the sheriff, or an 

6 equivalent officer or the designee of any such individual.’’; 

7 and 

8 (3) by inserting after subsection (s) (as so re9 designated) the following: 

10 ‘‘(t)(1) A licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, or 

11 licensed dealer shall not transfer ammunition to another 

12 person not licensed under this chapter, unless— 

13 ‘‘(A) before the completion of the transfer, the 

14 licensee contacts the national instant criminal back15 ground check system established under section 103 

16 of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act; 

17 ‘‘(B) the system provides the licensee with a 

18 unique identification number indicating that— 

19 ‘‘(i) the receipt of a firearm or ammunition 

20 by such other person would not violate sub21 section (g) or (n) of this section, or State, local, 

22 or Tribal law; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) if such other person has not attained 

24 21 years of age, that a transfer of a firearm or 


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1 ammunition to such other person would not vio2 late subsection (d) of this section; and 

3 ‘‘(C) the licensee has verified the identity of 

4 such other person by examining a valid identification 

5 document (as defined in section 1028(d) of this title) 

6 of such other person containing a photograph of 

7 such other person. 

8 ‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to an ammunition 

9 transfer between a licensee and another person if— 

10 ‘‘(A) such other person has presented to the li11 censee a permit that— 

12 ‘‘(i) allows such other person to possess or 

13 acquire ammunition, or to possess or acquire a 

14 firearm; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) was issued not more than 5 years ear16 lier by the State in which the transfer is to take 

17 place; and 

18 ‘‘(B) the law of the State provides that such a 

19 permit is to be issued only after an authorized gov20 ernment official has verified that the information 

21 available to such official does not indicate that pos22 session of ammunition by such other person would 

23 be in violation of law. 

24 ‘‘(3) Paragraphs (2) and (4) through (7) of sub25 section (s) shall apply with respect to ammunition transVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:45 Nov 14, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6172.IH H6172

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1 fers pursuant to this subsection in the same manner in 

2 which such paragraphs apply with respect to firearm 

3 transfers. 

4 ‘‘(4) It shall be unlawful for a licensed importer, li5 censed manufacturer, or licensed dealer to transfer posses6 sion of ammunition to another person not so licensed un7 less the licensee has provided such other person with a 

8 notice of the prohibition under paragraph (1), and such 

9 other person has certified that such other person has been 

10 provided with this notice on a form prescribed by the At11 torney General.’’. 

12 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

13 (1) SECTION 922.—Section 922(y)(2) of title 

14 18, United States Code, is amended, in the matter 

15 preceding subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘, 

16 (g)(5)(B), and (s)(3)(B)(v)(II)’’ and inserting ‘‘and 

17 (g)(5)(B)’’. 

18 (2) CONSOLIDATED AND FURTHER CONTINUING

19 APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2012.—Section 511 of title V 

20 of division B of the Consolidated and Further Con21 tinuing Appropriations Act, 2012 (34 U.S.C. 40901 

22 note) is amended by striking ‘‘subsection 922(t)’’ 

23 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘subsection (s) 

24 or (t) of section 922’’. 


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1 (c) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec2 tion, or any amendment made by this section, shall be con3 strued to— 

4 (1) authorize the establishment, directly or indi5 rectly, of a national firearms or ammunition reg6 istry; or 

7 (2) interfere with the authority of a State, 

8 under section 927 of title 18, United States Code, 

9 to enact a law on the same subject matter as this 

10 section. 

11 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF INCREASED FUNDING FOR

12 THE NICS SYSTEM.—In addition to any amount other13 wise authorized to be appropriated for the background 

14 check system established under section 103 of the Brady 

15 Handgun Violence Prevention Act, there are authorized to 

16 be appropriated not more than $150,000,000 for upgrad17 ing and maintaining the system. 

18 SEC. 7. REPORTING REQUIREMENT. 

19 Within 6 months after the effective date of this Act 

20 and annually thereafter, the Director of the Bureau of Al21 cohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives shall prepare, 

22 publish in the Federal Register, and otherwise make avail23 able to the public a report on the violations of section 

24 922(aa) of title 18, United States Code, that occurred dur25 ing the period covered by the report, and the information 


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1 reported pursuant to paragraph (2)(C) of such section (in2 cluding geographic data, total sales data, crime statistics, 

3 information on repeat offenders, or caliber types involved) 

4 during the period covered by the report, which shall in5 clude an identification of any trend in the violations or 

6 information that Federal, State, or local law enforcement 

7 authorities may find useful. 

8 SEC. 8. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

9 This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall 

10 take effect on the 120th day after the date of the enact11 ment of this Act. 

Æ 


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