President Biden’s budget proposal for fiscal 2024 adds nearly two billion dollars to the budget of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).
The proposed funding increase for the ATF comes at a time when some in the Republican-controlled House are calling for the ATF to be abolished, while others are pushing to defund ATF efforts they view as unconstitutional.
The funding proposal also comes as numerous lawsuits have been filed against the ATF over the the AR-pistol stabilizer brace rule, the 80 percent frame rule, and the bump stock ban.
Page 40 of Biden’s budget proposal adds $1.9 billion for the ATF.
The money is ubiquitously directed toward adding more ATF personnel, efforts against gun trafficking, “[increased] regulation of the firearms industry,” and implementation of the gun control Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) worked with Democrats to secure in the summer of 2022.
Biden’s budget also provides an additional $51 million to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), at a time when many Republicans believe the FBI has been weaponized.
Biden’s budget proposal also designates nearly another three billions for U.S. Attorneys.
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and a Turning Point USA Ambassador. AWR Hawkins holds a PhD in Military History with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.