16 January 2017

House Bill Would Disband The ATF

Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner has just reintroduced legislation to disband the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), folding their duties into other federal law enforcement agencies and ending a national nightmare.

Additionally, the Act calls for an immediate hiring freeze at the agency and requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) to eliminate and reduce duplicative functions and waste, as well as report to Congress with a detailed plan on how the transition will take place. Further, it would transfer enforcement of firearms, explosives and arson laws to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and illegal diversion of alcohol and tobacco products would be transferred to the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).

Under this bill, the DEA and FBI would be required to submit to Congress a plan for winding down the affairs of the ATF after no more than 180 days, and field offices, along with other buildings and assets of the ATF, would be transferred to the FBI. It would have one year to report excess property to the General Services Administration (GSA).

Congressman Sensenbrenner: "Despite our country being trillions of dollars in debt, government spending continues to rise. Common sense budgeting solutions are necessary, and the ATF Elimination Act is one measure we can take to reduce spending, redundancy, and practice responsible governance. The ATF is a scandal-ridden, largely duplicative agency that has been branded by failure and lacks a clear mission. It is plagued by backlogs, funding gaps, hiring challenges, and a lack of leadership. These facts make it a logical place to begin draining the swamp and acting in the best interest of the American taxpayer."

7 comments:

Old NFO said...

If only... sigh

SENIOR said...

Hey, I'm game for saying goodbye to them. I wont believe it until I see it though, sigh X2

ProudHillbilly said...

There's a whole buncha disbanding and reassigning that needs to happen. We have way too many flavors of LE not working together.

Ed Bonderenka said...

Who would authorize my class 3 purchase, if ever I could afford one?

On a Wing and a Whim said...

Oooh, eliminating an entire federal department? The shaking of the fearful bureaucrats, combined with the screaming, would set off earthquake sensors all over the east coast...

I for one am in favour of this plan.

LindaG said...

Will be interesting to see if they can get the backing to make it happen.

Rev. Paul said...

All - thank you. I can't think of a thing to add. But yes, it would be an interesting experience, and a good start.