Tester pushes to allow Montana business to sell ammo overseas

Senator calls for action on stalled request for Stevensville company

(HELENA, Mont.) – Senator Jon Tester is pushing the U.S. State Department to approve a Montana small business to sell ammunition it manufactures overseas.

HS Munitions, based in Stevensville, Mont., applied for an export license from the State Department nearly a year and a half ago.  The company is seeking permission to complete a $821,500 order for the nation of Georgia’s Ministry of Defense.

HS Munitions, which employs 38 Montanans, has received no response to its application.

Tester is requesting that the State Department break the bureaucratic logjam facing the application, saying the license will support Montana jobs at a successful small business.

“This order represents a significant contribution to such a small Montanan business,” Tester wrote in a letter to Under Secretary of State for Arms Control Ellen Tauscher.  “And the absence of a decision on the matter makes it exceedingly difficult for this small company to consider other orders with its limited resources and budget.”

“It is my hope that the Department can consider this case fully and promptly,” Tester added.

Tester’s letter to the State Department appears below.

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The Honorable Ellen Tauscher
Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security
Department of State
2201 C Street NW, Washington, DC 20520
      
Dear Under Secretary Tauscher:

I am writing to inquire on the application process for an export license intended for a constituent company in Stevensville, Montana, called HS Munitions, Inc.  HS Munitions and its sister company, The Hunting Shack, Inc., are a co-located ammunition company employing 38 hard-working Montanans.

On November 2, 2009, HS Munitions submitted a DSP-5, Application for Export License, case number 050197949, with the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, hoping to proceed with an ammunition order totaling $821,500 with the Georgian Ministry of Defense.  In mid-January 2011 my office inquired as to the status of this long-awaited license, both with email and phone messages.  There appears to be is no new information to add to this almost sixteen month process now.

I am a staunch advocate for caution and due diligence when it pertains to foreign sales of a military nature, and I fully support the meticulous efforts that members of the State Department employ when dealing with issues of this matter.  However, the good people of HS Munitions have patiently awaited the outcome of this application for well over a year with no resolution.  It is my hope that the Department can consider this case fully and promptly.  This order represents a significant contribution to such a small Montanan business; and the absence of a decision on the matter makes it exceedingly difficult for this small company to consider other orders with its limited resources and budget. 

Thank you very much for your consideration with this export license request and your support for small businesses throughout Montana and the United States.  I look forward to your prompt reply. 

Sincerely,
(s)
Jon Tester
United States Senator