Political Quotes

“On January 23, 2020, President Trump carried forward an initiative that had begun in 2010 focused on improving processes for reviewing arms exports, including making necessary updates to the United States Munitions List. Specifically, the items that moved fell within the category of firearms, for sure, however, only certain items were moved, not all. The State Department retains oversight of those defense articles and services that provide a critical military or intelligence advantage or, in the case of weapons, are inherently for military end use. Now, what does that mean? That means fully automatic firearms and modern artillery, silencers, components, parts, and accessories specifically designed for automatic firearms remain on the munitions list under State Department jurisdiction. These are still subject to congressional notification requirements as appropriate. For the items that were moved to Commerce, their export still requires authorization, but under Commerce Department regulations. Just keep in mind, Mr. Speaker, we compete. Even arms manufacturers in the United States still have to compete globally. Now, we can either sell American arms to our allies, or we can have them go shop with Russia or China. That would be great. Now, the Department of Commerce has been regulating exports of shotguns and specific types of ammunitions for decades and continues to do so today.…”