{ "id": "R44686", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "R44686", "active": true, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 463221, "date": "2017-08-07", "retrieved": "2017-08-22T13:33:25.794108", "title": "Gun Control: FY2017 Appropriations for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and Other Initiatives", "summary": "The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is the lead federal agency charged with administering and enforcing federal laws related to firearms and explosives commerce. ATF is also responsible for investigating arson cases with a federal nexus, and criminal cases involving the diversion of alcohol and tobacco from legal channels of commerce. As an agency within the Department of Justice (DOJ), ATF is funded through an annual appropriation in the Departments of Commerce and Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) Appropriations Act. For FY2017, Congress has appropriated $1.259 billion for ATF in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017 (P.L. 115-31), about $47.5 million less than the Obama Administration\u2019s budget request and $18.6 million more than the FY2016 appropriation.\nThis report chronicles the FY2017 appropriations cycle for ATF and other gun control initiatives, including legislative histories for several ATF funding limitations related to firearms. It also includes discussion of year-to-year data trends that could affect ATF workloads, such as the number and type of federal firearms licensees (FFLs), growth in the civilian gun stock, and firearms-related violent crime.\nThe Obama Administration\u2019s FY2017 budget request included $1.306 billion for ATF. This amount was $66.1 million above the FY2016 appropriation. This proposed increase included $11.8 million in technical and base adjustments to anticipate inflation and other variable costs and $54.3 million in budget enhancements. As part of President Barack Obama\u2019s gun safety initiative, these budget enhancements included\n$35.6 million for ATF to hire 80 additional special agents and 120 industry operations investigators; \n$4 million (including 8 positions) to upgrade the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network (NIBIN) hardware and software;\n$5.7 million and 22 positions to process firearms and explosives licenses and National Firearms Act (NFA) applications, and expand the use of firearms trace data by ATF and other federal and state law enforcement agencies; and\n$9 million to integrate ATF\u2019s case management systems into a single system.\nThe FY2017 budget request called for the repeal of two limitations that prevent ATF from (1) requiring FFLs to inventory their gun stocks prior to inspection and (2) changing an administrative definition of \u201ccurios and relics.\u201d In P.L. 115-31, Congress maintained these and other firearms-related limitations/provisos (appropriations riders) described in an Appendix to this report. Two additional provisos appear to have been made permanent law by the inclusion of \u201cwords of futurity,\u201d like \u201chereafter,\u201d \u201chenceforward,\u201d and \u201cthis and any other fiscal year.\u201d \nIn addition, President Obama\u2019s gun safety initiative included\n$35 million for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to address an increase in firearms background checks through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS); \n$55 million for grants to state, local, tribal, and territorial authorities under the National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP) and NICS Amendments Record Improvement Program (NARIP; P.L. 110-180); and \n$10 million for gun violence prevention research.\nNICS was established in 1998 by the FBI to facilitate an electronic background check process to determine firearms eligibility of unlicensed, private persons seeking to acquire firearms from FFLs, or firearms permits and licenses from state authorities. Through both NCHIP and NARIP, the DOJ provides grants to states, tribes, and territories to improve NICS access to records on persons prohibited from acquiring firearms under federal or state law. According to the Explanatory Statement accompanying H.R. 244 (P.L. 115-31), Congress provided funding to support NICS fully, and $73 million for NICS improvement grants. However, Congress did not provide the funding requested for gun violence prevention research. In addition, Congress maintained a limitation in P.L. 115-31 that continues to prohibit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other agencies from using appropriated funding to advocate or promote gun control.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R44686", "sha1": "776e7f645f1eea95bf80685c444402d1ba64d5e2", "filename": "files/20170807_R44686_776e7f645f1eea95bf80685c444402d1ba64d5e2.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44686_files&id=/1.png": "files/20170807_R44686_images_4a26d70a8e642fd15bb69bc871fed074c0cd18b7.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44686_files&id=/0.png": "files/20170807_R44686_images_3756e9e9c54020279cb3825939950db8d325da4d.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44686_files&id=/2.png": "files/20170807_R44686_images_1d5a38c4c26acde799e75a55f6d31d1c2d8a509e.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R44686", "sha1": "ea8fe6e13242b9480a7c12b49c82ab8216a1fee3", "filename": "files/20170807_R44686_ea8fe6e13242b9480a7c12b49c82ab8216a1fee3.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 459234, "date": "2017-02-27", "retrieved": "2017-03-09T17:50:42.648072", "title": "Gun Control: FY2017 Appropriations for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and Other Initiatives", "summary": "The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is the lead federal agency charged with administering and enforcing federal laws related to firearms and explosives commerce. ATF is also responsible for investigating arson cases with a federal nexus, and criminal cases involving the diversion of alcohol and tobacco from legal channels of commerce. As an agency within the Department of Justice (DOJ), ATF is funded through an annual appropriation in the Departments of Commerce and Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) Appropriations Act. \nThe Administration\u2019s FY2017 budget request included $1.306 billion for ATF. This amount was $66.1 million above the FY2016 appropriation. This proposed increase included $11.8 million in technical and base adjustments to anticipate inflation and other variable costs and $54.3 million in budget enhancements. As part of President Barack Obama\u2019s gun safety initiative, these budget enhancements include\n$35.6 million for ATF to hire 80 additional special agents and 120 industry operations investigators; \n$4 million (including 8 positions) to upgrade the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network (NIBIN) hardware and software;\n$5.7 million and 22 positions to process firearms and explosives licenses and National Firearms Act (NFA) applications, and expand the use of firearms trace data by ATF and other federal and state law enforcement agencies; and\n$9 million to integrate ATF\u2019s case management systems into a single system.\nThe FY2017 budget request called for the repeal of two limitations that prevent ATF from (1) requiring federal firearms licensees (FFLs) to inventory their gun stocks prior to inspection and (2) changing an administrative definition of \u201ccurios and relics.\u201d This report includes an Appendix that provides a legislative history for several ATF funding limitations related to gun control. It also includes discussion of year-to-year data trends that could affect ATF workloads, such as the number and type of FFLs, growth in the civilian gun stock, and firearms-related violent crime.\nIn addition, the President\u2019s gun safety initiative includes\n$35 million for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to address an increase in firearms background checks through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS); \n$55 million for grants to state, local, tribal, and territorial authorities under the National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP) and NICS Amendments Record Improvement Program (NARIP, P.L. 110-180); and \n$10 million for gun violence research.\nNICS was established in November 1998 by the FBI to facilitate an electronic background check process to determine firearms eligibility of unlicensed, private persons seeking to acquire firearms from FFLs, or firearms permits and licenses from state authorities. Through both NCHIP and NARIP, the DOJ Office of Justice Programs provides grants to states, tribes, and territories to improve NICS access to records on persons prohibited from acquiring firearms under federal or state law. \nThe Senate Committee on Appropriations reported a bill (S. 2837) that would have provided ATF with $1.259 billion for FY2017. On June 7, 2016, The House Committee on Appropriations reported a bill (H.R. 5393) that would have provided ATF with $1.258 billion for FY2017. Report language indicates that both bills would have fully supported the FBI and NICS. The Senate bill would have provided $75 million for NCHIP and NARIP grants; the House bill would have provided $73 million.\nNeither Committee included funding for gun violence research in the reported Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), and Education Appropriations bills (S. 3040 and H.R. 5926). Both Committees included limitations in these bills that would continue to prohibit the use of appropriated funding to advocate or promote gun control.\nOn December 10, 2016, President Obama signed into law a Further Continuing and Security Assistance Appropriations Act, 2017 (P.L. 114-243), which funds most of the federal government through April 28, 2017, at nearly the same levels as appropriated for FY2016. This continuing resolution also extends long-standing gun control limitations discussed above through that date.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R44686", "sha1": "891a5edc27e6560f197c05e090cb4d6818d8639c", "filename": "files/20170227_R44686_891a5edc27e6560f197c05e090cb4d6818d8639c.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R44686", "sha1": "413a4f65172c41d4f95c74ae7176bffe854e4ea8", "filename": "files/20170227_R44686_413a4f65172c41d4f95c74ae7176bffe854e4ea8.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 457027, "date": "2016-11-09", "retrieved": "2016-11-21T15:09:11.909582", "title": "Gun Control: FY2017 Appropriations for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and Other Initiatives", "summary": "The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is the lead federal agency charged with administering and enforcing federal laws related to firearms and explosives commerce. ATF is also responsible for investigating arson cases with a federal nexus, and criminal cases involving the diversion of alcohol and tobacco from legal channels of commerce. As an agency within the Department of Justice (DOJ), ATF is funded through an annual appropriation in the Departments of Commerce and Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) Appropriations Act. \nThe Administration\u2019s FY2017 budget request included $1.306 billion for ATF. This amount was $66.1 million above the FY2016 appropriation. This proposed increase included $11.8 million in technical and base adjustments to anticipate inflation and other variable costs and $54.3 million in budget enhancements. As part of President Barack Obama\u2019s gun safety initiative, these budget enhancements include\n$35.6 million for ATF to hire 80 additional special agents and 120 industry operations investigators; \n$4 million (including 8 positions) to upgrade the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network (NIBIN) hardware and software;\n$5.7 million and 22 positions to process firearms and explosives licenses and National Firearms Act (NFA) applications, and expand the use of firearms trace data by ATF and other federal and state law enforcement agencies; and\n$9 million to integrate ATF\u2019s case management systems into a single system.\nThe FY2017 budget request called for the repeal of two limitations that prevent ATF from (1) requiring federal firearms licensees (FFLs) to inventory their gun stocks prior to inspection and (2) changing an administrative definition of \u201ccurios and relics.\u201d This report includes an appendix that provides a legislative history for several ATF funding limitations related to gun control. It also includes discussion of year-to-year data trends that could affect ATF workloads, such as the number and type of FFLs, growth in the civilian gun stock, and firearms-related violent crime.\nIn addition, the President\u2019s gun safety initiative includes\n$35 million for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to address an increase in firearms background checks through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS); \n$55 million for grants to state, local, tribal, and territorial authorities under the National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP) and NICS Amendments Record Improvement Program (NARIP, P.L. 110-180); and \n$10 million for gun violence research.\nNICS was established in November 1998 by the FBI to facilitate an electronic background check process to determine firearms eligibility of unlicensed, private persons seeking to acquire firearms from FFLs, or firearms permits and licenses from state authorities. Through both NCHIP and NARIP, the DOJ Office of Justice Programs provides grants to states, tribes, and territories to improve NICS access to records on persons prohibited from acquiring firearms under federal or state law. \nThe Senate Committee on Appropriations reported a bill (S. 2837) that would have provided ATF with $1.259 billion for FY2017. On June 7, 2016, The House Committee on Appropriations reported a bill (H.R. 5393) that would have provided ATF with $1.258 billion for FY2017. Report language indicates that both bills would have fully supported the FBI and NICS. The Senate bill would have provided $75 million for NCHIP and NARIP grants; the House bill would have provided $73 million.\nNeither Committee included funding for gun violence research in the reported Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), and Education Appropriations bills (S. 3040 and H.R. 5926). Both Committees included limitations in these bills that would continue to prohibit the use of appropriated funding to advocate or promote gun control.\nOn September 29, 2016, President Obama signed into law a Continuing Appropriations Act, 2017 (P.L. 114-203), which funds most of the federal government through December 9, 2016 at the same levels as appropriated for FY2016. This continuing resolution also extends the long-standing gun control limitations discussed above through that date.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R44686", "sha1": "281ad56d2119906a75c8a9c4ac09147b5fb95603", "filename": "files/20161109_R44686_281ad56d2119906a75c8a9c4ac09147b5fb95603.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R44686", "sha1": "f396f4c119174f44a0449454e8322bbab993c7df", "filename": "files/20161109_R44686_f396f4c119174f44a0449454e8322bbab993c7df.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [] } ], "topics": [ "Appropriations", "Crime Policy", "Intelligence and National Security", "National Defense" ] }