TSA Reaffirms Decision On German Firearm Supplier
By Richard H.P. Sia, CongressDaily - October 24, 2003
The Transportation Security Administration has reaffirmed its decision
to have German firearms manufacturer Heckler & Koch supply as many as
9,600.40-caliber handguns to U.S. commercial airline pilots who complete
federal law enforcement training under the agency's guns-in-cockpits
program. A contract of three one-year options to supply H&K USP40
Compact Law Enforcement Model semiautomatic handguns was signed after
the agency, under pressure from House Small Business Chairman Donald
Manzullo, R-Ill., reevaluated all the bids it had received from firearms
companies, especially those with manufacturing facilities in the United
States. The maximum value of the contract is $3.3 million, H&K officials
said Tuesday. After a long, controversial search that upset many of the
world's biggest gun manufacturers, TSA initially awarded the contract in
July to H&K for its German-made firearms. That prompted Manzullo, an
outspoken advocate of "Buy American" laws to support U.S. manufacturing
jobs, to argue that the agency arming U.S. airline pilots should have
given preference to American-made weapons. Losing bidders included
several American and foreign firms that supply handguns to U.S. military
and police forces from U.S. factories.
Congressional and industry sources told CongressDaily this week a
"mitigating" factor for Heckler & Koch was its timely announcement
in
August, during TSA's bid re-evaluation process, that it would build its
first U.S. factory. The plant will be built on a 29-acre site in a
Columbus, Ga., technology park. Indeed, the company staged a
groundbreaking ceremony Oct. 14 with Georgia GOP Gov. Sonny Perdue, Sen.
Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., and Reps. Sanford Bishop, D-Ga., and Phil
Gingrey, R-Ga. The $25 million factory is expected to create some 200
jobs, boost area retail sales and generate more than $402,000 in annual
property taxes, with job figures increasing as new contracts are
awarded, company officials said. Among its first products will be
handguns for the TSA program, although the firearms delivered to pilots
this year and much of next year will come from the main H&K plant in
Germany. The U.S. facility also will produce assault rifles, machine
guns, grenade launchers and small arms for U.S. military and police
forces. "Establishing an American manufacturing base has been our number
one priority," Heckler & Koch Vice President Peter Simon said in a
statement. "Our Georgia factory represents Heckler & Koch's commitment
to the U.S. military and law enforcement communities, to America's war
on terrorism and to the creation of skilled manufacturing jobs for
Americans.">>>
By Richard H.P. Sia, CongressDaily - October 24, 2003
The Transportation Security Administration has reaffirmed its decision
to have German firearms manufacturer Heckler & Koch supply as many as
9,600.40-caliber handguns to U.S. commercial airline pilots who complete
federal law enforcement training under the agency's guns-in-cockpits
program. A contract of three one-year options to supply H&K USP40
Compact Law Enforcement Model semiautomatic handguns was signed after
the agency, under pressure from House Small Business Chairman Donald
Manzullo, R-Ill., reevaluated all the bids it had received from firearms
companies, especially those with manufacturing facilities in the United
States. The maximum value of the contract is $3.3 million, H&K officials
said Tuesday. After a long, controversial search that upset many of the
world's biggest gun manufacturers, TSA initially awarded the contract in
July to H&K for its German-made firearms. That prompted Manzullo, an
outspoken advocate of "Buy American" laws to support U.S. manufacturing
jobs, to argue that the agency arming U.S. airline pilots should have
given preference to American-made weapons. Losing bidders included
several American and foreign firms that supply handguns to U.S. military
and police forces from U.S. factories.
Congressional and industry sources told CongressDaily this week a
"mitigating" factor for Heckler & Koch was its timely announcement
in
August, during TSA's bid re-evaluation process, that it would build its
first U.S. factory. The plant will be built on a 29-acre site in a
Columbus, Ga., technology park. Indeed, the company staged a
groundbreaking ceremony Oct. 14 with Georgia GOP Gov. Sonny Perdue, Sen.
Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., and Reps. Sanford Bishop, D-Ga., and Phil
Gingrey, R-Ga. The $25 million factory is expected to create some 200
jobs, boost area retail sales and generate more than $402,000 in annual
property taxes, with job figures increasing as new contracts are
awarded, company officials said. Among its first products will be
handguns for the TSA program, although the firearms delivered to pilots
this year and much of next year will come from the main H&K plant in
Germany. The U.S. facility also will produce assault rifles, machine
guns, grenade launchers and small arms for U.S. military and police
forces. "Establishing an American manufacturing base has been our number
one priority," Heckler & Koch Vice President Peter Simon said in a
statement. "Our Georgia factory represents Heckler & Koch's commitment
to the U.S. military and law enforcement communities, to America's war
on terrorism and to the creation of skilled manufacturing jobs for
Americans.">>>