“Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., has proposed legislation that would dissolve the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The one-time Judiciary Committee chairman said other federal law enforcement agencies can handle the controversial bureau’s duties.
His bill, the ATF Elimination Act, would impose a hiring freeze at the ATF, require the Justice Department to “eliminate and reduce duplicative functions and waste,” and mandate a report to Congress detailing how it would shut down the ATF and transfer its responsibilities to the FBI, Drug Enforcement Agency and other departments.
Sensenbrenner would see the FBI assume the ATF’s enforcement of firearms, explosives and arson laws while the DEA would absorb its responsibility for ensuring that alcohol and tobacco are not illegally distributed. The FBI would take over the ATF’s building and assets.”
