House Passes Fertilizer Registry

The U.S. House of Representatives voted by voice Tuesday to require the registration of the sale and purchase of ammonium nitrate fertilizer. This stuff is a key ingredient in explosives used for the terrorist bombings of the Oklahoma City federal building and a night club in Bali, Indonesia.

H.R. 1680 demands sellers, producers and some buyers of ammonium nitrate register with the DHS. It also orders producers and sellers to keep sales records.

The Department of Homeland Security would cross reference the sales records with terrorism watch lists, and retailers would receive civil liability protections if they refuse to sell.

Ammonium nitrate is a common and widely used agricultural fertilizer that also happened to comprise explosives used on the double bomb attacks in Istanbul in 2003, killing 57 and attacks on U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998.

According to estimates by the Congressional Budget Office, there are approximately 2,000 sellers and manufacturers of ammonium nitrate in the United States. The DHS would need about 60 new employees to preform audits and field inspections.

There is little reaction from bloggers thus far. Jeralyn of TalkLeft.com did however briefly comment on the topic:

I'm not impressed. It's another feel good bill. Ammonium nitrate is not a bomb. It's fertilizer. And do we really need another database?

The bill has yet to be considered in the Senate.

-Dippold

Political Online Reputation