Unhappy with the lack of progress on new gun control legislation, the Obama Administration is using your tax dollars to corner the market on ammunition, buying up as much as possible to limit the amount the public can purchase, according to a U.S. lawmaker.

Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., in an interview with radio talk show host Aaron Klein, said he thinks purchase orders from the Department of Homeland Security to purchase more than 1 billion rounds of firearms ammunition is part of an "intentional" effort to "dry up the market" for law-abiding gun owners.

"We have in this country the Second Amendment that preserves the right to keep and bear arms," Inhofe said, "and the president doesn't believe in that."

'He's doing this so honest law-abiding citizens can't buy ammo'

Inhofe was discussing his AMMO bill - Ammunition Management for More Obtainability - with Klein, WorldNetDaily reported. The measure aims to limit non-defense, armed federal agencies to purchasing and/or obtaining pre-Obama Administration levels of ammunition. The measure, S.843, has been referred to a Senate committee; a similar bill in the House has been introduced by Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Okla.

"President Obama has been doing everything he could to stop the private ownership of guns in America," Inhofe said. "Yet he's been voted down in a big way by a large majority, and so my feeling is that he's doing this to buy up [ammunition] so honest, law-abiding citizens here in the United States, like my son, can't even buy ammunition because government is purchasing so much."

Ammunition shortages have been reported for months by suppliers and retailers all over the country.

For its part, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano - not known as a bastion of integrity - has said her department is merely trying to make the best use of taxpayer dollars by buying in bulk, adding that as much as 80 percent of the ammo will be used for training purposes. Call it the "Sam's Club" excuse, but Inhofe isn't buying into it.