| Abstrakt: |
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is the lead federal law enforcement agency charged with administering and enforcing federal laws related to the manufacture, importation, and distribution of firearms and explosives. Congress transferred ATF's enforcement and regulatory functions for firearms and explosives from the Department of the Treasury to the Department of Justice as part of the Homeland Security Act (P.L. 107-296). ATF is also responsible for investigating arson cases with a federal nexus, as well as criminal violations of federal laws governing the manufacture, importation, and distribution of alcohol and tobacco. From FY1999 to FY2008, Congress increased ATF appropriations from $541.6 million to nearly $1.012 billion, an increase of 87%. The FY2008 appropriation initially included $984.1 million for salaries and expenses and $23.5 million for construction. For the same 10 years, with some fluctuation, ATF staffing increased from 3,969 to 4,880 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions, a 23% increase. Despite increased funding, the then acting ATF Director, Michael Sullivan, testified before Congress that ATF had been operating under a $37 million shortfall for FY2008, as funding for ATF salaries and expenses had not been increased. For FY2008, Congress provided another $4 million in the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 (P.L. 110-252) for ATF operations in Iraq. Congress provided an additional $10 million in FY2008 funding for a Southwest border anti-gun trafficking initiative known as "Project Gunrunner" in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (P.L. 111-5), but as this is one-time, economic stimulus funding, it is not included in the FY2008 total above. The Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009 (P.L. 111-8) included $1.054 billion for ATF, an amount that was equal to the House-reported bill (H.R. 7322), almost 1.1% more than the Senate-reported bill (S. 3182), and 2.6% more than the FY2009 request. The FY2009 appropriation includes at least $5 million for Project Gunrunner. The Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2009 (P.L. 111-32), includes another $14 million for ATF, bringing the total enacted FY2009 budget for the agency to $1.068 billion, or a 5.6% increase compared to the FY2008 enacted level. For FY2010, the Administration has requested $1.121 billion and 5,025 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions for ATF, or $66.6 million and 68 FTE positions more than the amounts appropriated for FY2009 ($1.054 billion and 4,957). Of the difference, $23.6 million and 22 FTE positions are base adjustments. For Southwest border enforcement, the FY2010 request includes a budget enhancement of $18 million to support Project Gunrunner and $25 million for the new National Center for Explosives Training and Research Center (NCETR).… [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
