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Lautenberg, Schumer Join Forces to Stop Republican Attempts to Pass Legislation That Would Make it Easier for Terrorists to Build Missiles in US
Ashcroft Justice Dept. Opposes Legislation
Washington, D.C. - Today, United States Senators Frank R. Lautenberg (D-N.J.) and Charles Schumer (D-NY) joined the Bush Administration in opposition to a Republican sponsored bill that would exempt the purchase of certain explosives used to launch 'high-powered hobby rockets' from federal license, permit and background check requirements currently in place. The legislation (S.724) which Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) attempted to pass without debate or a vote, would allow terrorists and criminals to acquire large amounts of explosive rocket propellant without law enforcement's knowledge; placing Americans at further risk and jeopardizing homeland security.
"Allowing anybody to walk into a store and buy huge amounts of rocket fuel is crazy. We need to protect our homeland from terrorists; not give them even more tools to harm Americans," said Lautenberg. "The bottom line is that some of the rockets people are building these days aren't "models" - they are missiles with tips that can be filled with explosives or biological or chemical weapons."
"Sometimes the things you see in Congress make you scratch your head in wonderment. Why anyone in the post-9/11 world would think that making it easier to get bomb-making materials is a good idea is beyond me," Schumer said. "This bill would essentially create a new loophole that lets terrorists and criminals accumulate large amounts of the same kinds of explosives that the Unabomber and other terrorists have used. We should be tightening the restrictions on this stuff, not loosening them. This is legislative lunacy."
The legislation sponsored by Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY) and supported by Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) would exempt high powered model rocket users from going through the federal permit process, allowing anyone to purchase up to two pounds of certain explosives at a time, up to .9 pounds of rocket propellant, as well as fuses, matches and igniters without getting any kind of permit or undergoing any kind of background check.
The Homeland Security Act law requires purchasers of the explosives most commonly used in high-power hobby rockets - ammonium perchlorate composite propellant (APCP) and black powder ? to undergo background checks and get permits from the ATF. APCP is used in the boosters of the Space Shuttle and can propel model rockets as high as 20,000 feet. In addition, the Justice Department, in a letter to Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) in opposition to the bill, explained that these high-powered model rockets could be turned into missiles with a range of nearly five miles.
"Passing legislation to loosen rules on buying explosive rocket fuel is not just irresponsible, it's crazy," said Lautenberg.
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