House panel requesting information on firearms export pause

The House Oversight and Accountability Committee is requesting information on the Department of Commerce’s 90-day pause on issuing new export licenses for certain firearms and ammunition.

In a letter dated Tuesday to Commerce Sec. Gina Raimondo, Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) criticized the department for targeting the firearms industry and questioned whether the department was acting on the “political whims of a radical anti-firearm administration.”

“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,” Comer wrote in his letter.

Comer specifically took issue with the department’s claim that the purpose of the 90-day pause would be “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.”

He wrote that the department has not provided “examples of such activity or any explanation why existing export regulations need amending to address the alleged issues,” noting that the pause does not apply to other “implements of torture,” like thumbscrews or spiked batons.

“This inconsistency of application calls into question whether Commerce’s alleged human rights rationale is a pretext to target the domestic firearms manufacturing industry,” he wrote.

Comer requested a staff-level briefing by Dec. 5 and requested documentation and communications from the department by Dec. 12.

The information requested in the briefing includes a “full explanation of the rationale” for the pause, where the idea for the pause originated, and whether other federal agencies were involved in the decision. He also requested to be briefed on the review itself, including who is involved, what the timeline for completion is and what the department assesses will be the impact on the domestic firearm industry.

He requested all documents and communications related to the 90-day Firearms Export Control Pause & Review between Commerce and any federal agency, the White House and any official in the Executive Office of the President. He also requested guidance to officials carrying out the pause related to certain goods and documents related to the assessment of current firearm export control review policies.