DHS and DOJ have several components with law enforcement functions whose personnel are authorized to carry firearms in support of accomplishing their respective missions. Table 1 describes the various law enforcement and homeland security missions of the DHS and DOJ components within our review, as well as the number of personnel authorized to carry firearms in fiscal year 2013. In support of their law enforcement missions, both DHS and DOJ law enforcement officers and agents use a number of different types of firearms, which require a variety of ammunition. Examples of firearms include side arms, such as pistols, and long guns, such as rifles. Commonly used ammunition includes .40 caliber, .223 caliber, and 9 millimeter, according to our analysis of data provided by DHS. More examples of commonly used firearms and ammunition can be found in appendix II. In 2003, DHS began its strategic sourcing program to leverage its buying power and secure competitive prices for a variety of goods and services, resulting in cost savings through collective procurement actions (e.g., buying in bulk quantities at lower prices). DHS developed its first strategically sourced ammunition procurement in 2005. DHS’s strategic sourcing contract vehicles include contracts or agreements that have been established for use by two or more components, and these types of contracts have been used by DHS components to procure ammunition. The Office of Management and Budget’s Office of Federal Procurement Policy has cited DHS’s efforts among best practices for implementing federal strategic sourcing initiatives, and we have also reported on DHS’s strategic sourcing initiatives. DHS procures ammunition using two types of contracts—strategic sourcing and individual contracts. The decision of whether to use a strategic sourcing contract is driven by collective component needs, according to DHS officials. That is, if more than one component needs a specific type of ammunition, then that ammunition procurement is a candidate for strategic sourcing. Most of DHS’s ammunition contracts, whether strategically sourced or individual contracts, are indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contracts, which are typically negotiated for a base year with additional options for purchasing ammunition up to a certain maximum number of rounds, or contract ceiling. These IDIQ contracts allow components to lock in the price, specifications, delivery costs, and other requirements and then place purchase orders throughout the negotiated time frame of the contract (e.g., indefinite delivery) for varying quantities as needed (e.g., indefinite quantity), rather than placing a single order for large amounts of ammunition. DHS orders based on the contracts as needed and pays for the ammunition on delivery. DHS is required to buy only a minimum that represents about 1 month of the projected DHS requirement, according to DHS officials. In August 2012, DHS began requiring components to use strategic sourcing contract vehicles for procurements, including ammunition, unless procurements met certain exceptions, such as specialized types of ammunition not commonly used across components or ammunition requiring certain technical specifications. Ammunition that is either not commonly used or has specifications needed by a single component can be acquired through individual component contracts according to DHS officials. Within the DHS Office of the Chief Procurement Officer, the Strategic Sourcing Program Office helps components develop, implement, and maintain sourcing strategies to enhance acquisition efficiency. According to DHS officials, the strategic sourcing process for procuring ammunition for multiple components has saved an estimated $2 million since fiscal year 2008. See appendix III for a complete list of all active DHS ammunition contracts, as of October 2013. Given the number of law enforcement and security personnel across the department, DHS established the Weapons and Ammunition Commodity Council (WACC) in October 2003 to consolidate weapons, ammunition, and other enforcement equipment requirements. While DHS components are responsible for determining their own ammunition requirements and needs, WACC is to serve as the coordinating mechanism for DHS components’ ammunition and weapons procurements. Rather than have each component procure ammunition and weapons individually or draw exclusively on its own history for best practices, the members of WACC, as shown in figure 1, are to meet monthly to explore ways to maximize procurement savings, according to DHS officials. According to DHS officials, to further coordinate ammunition and weapons procurements, DHS is exploring the feasibility of broadening the scope of WACC to also track and approve ammunition purchases across the department. As of October 2013, DHS said these plans are in the development stage. DHS’s Office of the Chief Readiness Support Officer, within the Management Directorate, is responsible for department-wide asset management. Within each component, property management officers or firearm program managers are responsible for the component’s firearm program, including ammunition. In general, component firearm instructors or firearms and weapons custodians are responsible for maintaining oversight for the shipment, receipt, issuance and periodic inventory of firearms and ammunition. At the headquarters level, the DHS Assistant Deputy for Mobile Assets and Personal Property has overall responsibility for the oversight and management of DHS firearm assets. This includes ensuring that components have an approved firearm asset management system of record and documented firearm accountability policies and procedures. The Chief Readiness Support Officer disseminates DHS’s asset management program requirements, provides oversight of the program, and sets department policy. The DHS Office of the Chief Readiness Support Officer’s Sensitive Asset Manager’s responsibilities include evaluating, auditing, and assessing component-level firearm asset management systems of record and accountability programs to ensure compliance with laws, regulations, policies, and directives, and working with components to develop standard and uniform DHS-wide firearms accountability policies and guidelines. In fiscal year 2013, DHS purchased 84 million rounds of ammunition for its authorized firearm-carrying workforce, which is less than DHS’s ammunition purchases each year over the past 5 fiscal years. DHS ammunition purchases are driven primarily by the firearms training and qualification requirements for the firearm-carrying workforce, though other factors are also considered by DHS when making ammunition purchase decisions. For selected DOJ components, for fiscal years 2011 through 2013, the average number of rounds of ammunition purchased per authorized firearm-carrying personnel per year was comparable to that for DHS law enforcement components.identified similar considerations in determining their annual ammunition requirements. From fiscal year 2008 through fiscal year 2013, DHS purchased an average of 109 million rounds of ammunition per year. Yearly purchases ranged from a high of 133 million rounds in fiscal year 2009 to a low of 84 million rounds in fiscal year 2013. In comparison, the total consumer ammunition market for 2012 was approximately 9.5 billion rounds, according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation. DHS’s ammunition purchases over the 6-year period equate to an average of 1,200 rounds of ammunition purchased per agent or officer per year.The annual total cost for these ammunition purchases ranged from $19 million to $34 million per year, with an average of $29 million for the 6- year time period. In fiscal year 2013, DHS purchased 84 million rounds of ammunition for its authorized firearm-carrying workforce, equaling an average of 900 rounds per agent or officer that year, and a total annual cost of $19 million. According to senior DHS officials, the decline in ammunition purchases in fiscal year 2013 is the result of budget constraints, reduced training, and in one case the expiration of an ammunition contract. These officials said that although ammunition purchases declined in fiscal year 2013, DHS components relied on their ammunition inventories to maintain basic qualification and operational needs. In fiscal year 2014, DHS plans to purchase about 75 million rounds of ammunition (see fig. 2). According to DHS contract data as of October 1, 2013, the 29 existing DHS ammunition contracts extend over the next 4 fiscal years and have a remaining contract limit of approximately 704 million rounds (for various ammunition types), if every option for purchasing ammunition were exercised into fiscal year 2018. The total contract dollar ceiling on these 29 active contracts is about $285 million. The approximately 704 million rounds of ammunition represent the limit on the combined active contracts, against which orders from the manufacturers may be placed over the next several fiscal years. See appendix III for a complete list of all active DHS ammunition contracts, as of October 1, 2013. Although the amounts of DHS’s overall ammunition purchases have fallen since fiscal year 2009, the yearly changes in the amount of ammunition purchased by its component agencies have varied, as shown in figure 3. CBP—which has the most firearm-carrying personnel of the DHS components—purchased the largest amount of ammunition, on average, from fiscal year 2008 through 2013, accounting for approximately 46 percent of DHS’s average purchases of ammunition for this time period. The average amount of ammunition purchased by components from fiscal years 2008 through 2013 ranged from approximately 50 million rounds of ammunition for CBP to a low of approximately 1.9 million rounds of ammunition for FPS. A number of factors contribute to variation in ammunition purchases from year to year by component, such as changes in the size of the firearm- carrying workforce. For example, CBP and ICE increased their firearm- carrying workforces in fiscal years 2008 and 2009, which also increased ammunition needs for those components, as new hires needed to be trained to gain firearms proficiency prior to entering the field for duty. According to CBP data, new Border Patrol agents each use approximately 3,300 rounds during training and qualification, compared with experienced officers who might use about 600 rounds. DHS components provided data on the amount of ammunition typically used by a new law enforcement hire, which ranged from 2,000 to 5,000 rounds. From fiscal years 2008 through 2013, the DHS components in our review trained thousands of new law enforcement agents and officers, according to DHS data. Other factors that account for changes in ammunition purchases year to year include qualification and training requirements and amount of ammunition in inventory, as discussed later in this report. In addition, it is important to note that components purchase ammunition throughout the year, and orders placed in 1 fiscal year might not arrive or be used until future years, which can also contribute to variation in purchases from year to year. The amount of ammunition each component purchases for its firearm- carrying personnel also varies.