This legislation will bring much needed reform to the sale of military surplus materiel by the Department of Defense. If military surplus were simply a matter of combat boots, camouflage and fatigues, this legislation would not be necessary. But for those in the know, Pentagon surplus can mean a cheap, nearly untraceable supply of weapons and weapons parts that cost the U.S. government billions of dollars to purchase. The problem lies in the execution of the process.
Equipment is coded incorrectly and almost always too easily.
When Pentagon investigators did a random survey of surplus stock, they found missile simulators, bombs, guidance systems for cruise missiles, fully functional automatic weapons, as well as other potentially deadly materiels. This situation represents more than a fiscal threat to our Country. Sophisticated weaponry is finding its way to foreign interests while criminals in the United States rely on military surplus to outfit their operations. A methamphetamine lab run by a national gang was raided by Drug Enforcement Agents in Los Angeles, who found machine guns and flame-throwers traceable to arms surplus. One military surplus supplier was outfitting Cobra Attack helicopters for resale.