{"id":29836,"date":"2020-09-21T09:05:00","date_gmt":"2020-09-21T09:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2020\/09\/21\/after-deaths-at-ammo-plants-lawmakers-to-quiz-us-army-leaders-on-modernizing-production\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:27:52","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:27:52","slug":"after-deaths-at-ammo-plants-lawmakers-to-quiz-us-army-leaders-on-modernizing-production","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2020\/09\/21\/after-deaths-at-ammo-plants-lawmakers-to-quiz-us-army-leaders-on-modernizing-production\/","title":{"rendered":"After deaths at ammo plants, lawmakers to quiz US Army leaders on modernizing production"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2015 Lawmakers are expected to meet Tuesday to broadly discuss modernizing the military\u2019s munitions production, but the hearing follows a series of explosions and fires that have killed and injured nearly a dozen workers at munition plants in recent years and led to a previously unreported investigation by the House Armed Services Committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The hearing, before the Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces, comes as Congress weighs legislation that would increase oversight of the military\u2019s suppliers by the Pentagon and Congress. Lawmakers are also considering an independent review of the enterprise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The handful of ammunition facilities around the country are largely government-owned, contractor-operated \u2015 some with infrastructure that dates back to World War II. The work at these facilities are extremely dangerous, with tragic mishaps over the last few years occurring at locations operated by Orbital ATK<\/a>, AMTEC Less-Lethal Systems<\/a> and BAE Systems<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The deaths and injuries<\/a> spurred a bipartisan, six-month investigation conducted by the House Armed Services Committee that covered production, storage, transportation and demilitarization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe said that\u2019s a lot of mishaps to be occurring in these industrial facilities in such a short time span,\u201d a committee aide told Defense News. \u201cLet\u2019s pull the thread and see what\u2019s going on there. From there it\u2019s spiraled into looking at the whole munitions enterprise, from production through demilitarization and disposal of weapons.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A separate audit<\/a> of the Defense Department\u2019s transportation practices for arms, ammunition and explosives released in March faulted the department for failing to properly track thousands of shipments by truck and rail, which exposed the public to materiel that were \u201cstolen, damaged, exploded, ignited, or spilled across public highways.\u201d The Pentagon\u2019s inspector general also found that commercial carriers did not always comply with safety regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n