Comer Probes Commerce’s 90 Day Firearm Export License Pause

WASHINGTON—House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) today is requesting information related to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s recent decision to cease issuing new export licenses related to certain firearms, firearm components, and ammunition for approximately 90 days to certain countries. In a letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, Chairman Comer warns Commerce’s recent decision is at odds with the agency’s mission and is inconsistently applied across industries, bringing into question whether the domestic firearm manufacturing industry is a target.

“This action has raised concern about a possible extralegal attempt by the Biden Administration to harm the domestic firearms manufacturing industry in pursuit of an anti-firearm agenda by starving it of access to international markets for at least 90 days, perhaps indefinitely,” Chairman Comer wrote.

The Oversight Committee is conducting oversight of the Biden Administration’s government overreach which has targeted lawful gun-owning Americans exercising their Second Amendment rights. The Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs held a joint subcommittee hearing with the Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance last March to investigate how the Biden Administration weaponized the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) against law-abiding gun owners.

“This 90 day ‘pause’ is purportedly to enable Commerce ‘to more effectively assess and mitigate risk of firearms being diverted to entities or activities that promote regional instability, violate human rights, or fuel criminal activities.’ Commerce, however, did not provide any examples of such activity or any explanation why existing export regulations need amending to address the alleged issues. This inconsistency of application calls into question whether Commerce’s alleged human rights rationale is a pretext to target the domestic firearms manufacturing industry,” Chairman Comer continued.

Read the letter to Secretary Raimondo here.