House Bill Would Disband Scandal-Plagued ATF

[Pawpaw]

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.

https://bearingarms.com/bob-o/2017/01/1 ... ering-atf/

[The Annoyed Man]

Holy cow! I'll bet there's some blowback on this one!

[AF-Odin]

Well, the alcohol and tobacco could go to IRS or Treasury as they are there for tax and regulatory purposes, Firearms and explosives could go to FBI. Doesn't FBI perform the NICS check anyway. Could get rid of a bunch of administrators and supervisors if it was folded into other departments.

[parabelum]

They can all go study climate change for Gore and record polar bear fart patterns.

[TexasJohnBoy]

This bill sounds like a fantastic idea. It makes perfect sense to be more efficient with our resources. An entire agency dedicated to a job that could easily be taken care of by other agencies that already exist.

[OlBill]

Yes please.

[anygunanywhere]

This should be just the beginning. 7/8 of the national government is unconstitutional anyway.

[jason812]

This should be just the beginning. 7/8 of the national government is unconstitutional anyway.

I would say this would be a good start to the existence of fewer alphabet agencies who make laws without getting a vote in Congress.

[Rex B]

Yes, it would be a Darned Good Start.

With the new administration coming and no obligations to the existing bureaucracies, all sorts of things are on the table.

Term limits bill has been introduced.

Suppressors

Returning federal land to the states.

Single subject bills to reduce unrelated pork-barrel add-ons

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/8656 ... gress.html

We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to restore this nation to some semblance of the FF's vision. There is hope.

[bblhd672]

Drain that swamp! Drain that swamp! Drain that swamp!

All together now....Drain that swamp!

[Jeff B.]

Like most or all others here, I'm all for this.

We've seen the effects of over 100 years of "mission creep" and it's not pretty.

I believe that we could all function quite well with a smaller governmental presence.

Jeff B.

[OlBill]

$1.2 billion.

5,000 people

[TexasJohnBoy]

$1.2 billion.

5,000 people

Budget and employees?

I'm sure that most of those employees would still be employed by the IRS, FBI or DEA. The jobs they perform would still need to be performed within the agencies that take over the responsibilities of the dissolved ATF.

As far as budget, last time I looked at the deficit and debt, they could use less spending.

[K.Mooneyham]

Well, the alcohol and tobacco could go to IRS or Treasury as they are there for tax and regulatory purposes, Firearms and explosives could go to FBI. Doesn't FBI perform the NICS check anyway. Could get rid of a bunch of administrators and supervisors if it was folded into other departments.

There is a bureau under the Treasury that already handles the tax collection for alcohol and tobacco. So, really, the BATFE is misnamed and pretty much handles only explosives and firearms law enforcement. I've been saying versions of what you said for some years now. It really wouldn't get rid of a large number of personnel, unless the laws that need to be enforced were changed/rescinded, well. Most of the agents would simply transfer. However, a lot of top bureaucrats and managers would go bye-bye, and maybe with explosives and firearms as just another function of the FBI, it would decrease the level of politics surrounding the whole thing. Well, we can dream, anyway.

[Liberty]

Moving the Firearms enforcement into the FBI would have two effects.

1: it makes enforcement less subject too new or changing regulations. The FBI isn't a regulatory agency. So it would be less likely to have a group of people sitting around a table, wondering "How can we muck things up for the deplorables?"

2: I think the FBI also has the danger of becoming a super agency, that is getting all too sensitive to political pressures.They seem to let some people get away with all kinds of stuff. Yet,so willing to make scapegoats outa people for people that aren't kissing the right donkeys. I'm not sure I trust them anymore, and I don't know what Trump can do to improve our confidence. These days, I'm seeing lots of similarities to the old E. German Stasi. I would be willing to talk to any Local or Texas LEO about any investigation. But I would never have any conversation with any fed without a lawyer.