Brian A. Terry Memorial Eliminate the ATF Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3960 To eliminate the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, re- move firearm restrictions on lawful gun owners, and provide funds to surviving families of border patrol agents killed as a result of Operation Fast and Furious. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 17, 2021 Mrs. GREENE of Georgia (for herself, Mr. NORMAN, Mr. GAETZ, and Mr. GOSAR) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, and Homeland Security, for a period to be subsequently deter- mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To eliminate the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, remove firearm restrictions on lawful gun owners, and provide funds to surviving families of border patrol agents killed as a result of Operation Fast and Furious. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Brian A. Terry Memo- 4 rial Eliminate the ATF Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Jul 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3960.IH H3960 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3960 IH TITLE I—ABOLISHMENT OF THE 1 BUREAU OF ALCOHOL, TO- 2 BACCO, FIREARMS AND EX- 3 PLOSIVES 4 SEC. 101. PREPARATORY PROVISIONS. 5 (a) RESCISSION OF RECENT REGULATIONS.—All reg- 6 ulations and guidance issued by the Bureau of Alcohol, 7 Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (in this title referred 8 to as the ‘‘Bureau’’) during the period that begins with 9 August 1, 2020, and ends with the date of the enactment 10 of this title are hereby null and void and shall have no 11 force or effect. 12 (b) RESCISSION OF HIRING AUTHORITY.—The au- 13 thority of any officer or employee of the Bureau to hire 14 is hereby rescinded. 15 (c) NOTICE TO BUREAU EMPLOYEES.—On the date 16 of the enactment of this title, the President shall provide 17 each employee of the Bureau with written notice that, on 18 the abolishment date— 19 (1) the Bureau will be abolished; and 20 (2) if the employee is a Bureau employee as of 21 that date, the employment of the employee with the 22 Bureau will be terminated. 23 (d) DISPOSITION OF CONFISCATED FIREARMS AND 24 AMMUNITION POSSESSED BY THE BUREAU.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Jul 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3960.IH H3960 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3960 IH (1) PUBLICATION OF LIST.—Within 3 months 1 after the date of the enactment of this title, the Di- 2 rector of the Bureau shall publish an itemized list on 3 the website of the Bureau, which shall be available 4 to the public, of all confiscated firearms and ammu- 5 nition possessed by the Bureau. 6 (2) SALE BY AUCTION.—Before the abolishment 7 date, the Director of the Bureau shall sell the fire- 8 arms and ammunition referred to in paragraph (1) 9 to licensed dealers (as defined in section 921(a) of 10 title 18, United States Code) at public auction. 11 SEC. 102. ABOLISHMENT. 12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Effective on the abolishment date, 13 the Bureau is abolished. 14 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this title: 15 (1) ABOLISHMENT DATE.—The term ‘‘abolish- 16 ment date’’ means the date that is 180 days after 17 the date of the enactment of this title. 18 (2) FUNCTION.—The term ‘‘function’’ includes 19 any duty, obligation, power, authority, responsibility, 20 right, privilege, activity, or program. 21 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Jul 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3960.IH H3960 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3960 IH SEC. 103. TRANSFER OF AUTHORITIES, FUNCTIONS, PER- 1 SONNEL, AND ASSETS TO THE DEPARTMENT 2 OF JUSTICE. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 599A of title 28, United 4 States Code, is amended to read as follows: 5 ‘‘§ 599A. Transfer of authorities, functions, personnel, 6 and assets to the Department of Justice 7 ‘‘(a) TRANSFER OF AUTHORITIES, FUNCTIONS, PER- 8 SONNEL, AND ASSETS.—Notwithstanding any other provi- 9 sion of law, there are transferred to the Department of 10 Justice the authorities, functions, personnel, and assets of 11 the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, 12 as in effect just before the abolishment date (as defined 13 in section 102(b)(1) of the Brian A. Terry Memorial 14 Eliminate the ATF Act). 15 ‘‘(b) COORDINATION.—The Attorney General, acting 16 through such other officials of the Department of Justice 17 as the Attorney General may designate, shall provide for 18 the coordination of all firearms, explosives, and arson en- 19 forcement functions vested in the Attorney General so as 20 to assure maximum cooperation between and among any 21 officer, employee, or agency of the Department of Justice 22 involved in the performance of these and related func- 23 tions.’’. 24 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter head- 25 ing for chapter 40A of such title is amended by striking 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Jul 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3960.IH H3960 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3960 IH ‘‘BUREAU OF ALCOHOL, TOBACCO, FIRE- 1 ARMS, AND EXPLOSIVES’’ and inserting 2 ‘‘TRANSFER OF CERTAIN AUTHORITIES, 3 FUNCTIONS, PERSONNEL, AND ASSETS TO 4 THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE’’. 5 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.— 6 (1) The table of chapters for part II of such 7 title is amended by striking the item relating to 8 chapter 40A and inserting the following: 9 ‘‘40A. Transfer of Certain Authorities, Functions, Personnel, and As- sets to the Department of Justice ................................ 599A’’. (2) The table of sections for chapter 40A of 10 such title is amended by striking the item relating 11 to section 599A and inserting the following: 12 ‘‘599A. Transfer of Certain Authorities, Personnel, and Assets to the Depart- ment of Justice.’’. SEC. 104. ADMINISTRATION OF TAXES ON BEER, WINE, 13 SPIRITS, AND TOBACCO PRODUCTS TRANS- 14 FERRED TO ATTORNEY GENERAL. 15 (a) TRANSFER.—Notwithstanding any other provi- 16 sion of law, there are transferred to the Department of 17 Justice the authorities, functions, personnel, and assets of 18 the Tax and Trade Bureau of the Department of the 19 Treasury relating to administration and enforcement of 20 chapters 51 and 52 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 21 so much of chapters 61 through 80 of such Code as relate 22 to the enforcement and administration of such chapters 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Jul 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3960.IH H3960 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3960 IH 51 and 52, the Federal Alcohol Administration Act, the 1 Alcohol Beverage Labeling Act of 1988, and the Act of 2 March 1, 1913, commonly known as the ‘‘Webb-Kenyon 3 Act’’. Such authorities, functions, personnel, and assets 4 shall be employed by or under the supervision of the Attor- 5 ney General. 6 (b) AMENDMENT OF INTERNAL REVENUE CODE OF 7 1986.—Section 7801(a)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code 8 of 1986 is amended to read as follows: 9 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATION AND ENFORCEMENT BY 10 ATTORNEY GENERAL OF PROVISIONS RELATING TO 11 BEER, WINE, SPIRITS, AND TOBACCO PRODUCTS.— 12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The administration 13 and enforcement of the following provisions of 14 this title shall be performed by or under the su- 15 pervision of the Attorney General; and the term 16 ‘Secretary’ or ‘Secretary of the Treasury’ shall, 17 when applied to those provisions, mean the At- 18 torney General; and the term ‘internal revenue 19 officer’ shall, when applied to those provisions, 20 mean any officer within the Department of Jus- 21 tice so designated by the Attorney General: 22 ‘‘(i) Chapters 51 and 52. 23 ‘‘(ii) Chapters 61 through 80, to the 24 extent such chapters relate to the enforce- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Jul 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3960.IH H3960 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3960 IH ment and administration of the provisions 1 referred to in clause (i). 2 ‘‘(B) USE OF EXISTING RULINGS AND IN- 3 TERPRETATIONS.—Nothing in the Brian A. 4 Terry Memorial Eliminate the ATF Act alters 5 or repeals the rulings and interpretations of the 6 Tax and Trade Bureau in effect on the effective 7 date of such Act, which concerns the provisions 8 of this title referred to in subparagraph (A). 9 The Attorney General shall consult with the 10 Secretary to achieve uniformity and consistency 11 in administering the provisions referred to in 12 subparagraph (A).’’. 13 SEC. 105. DUTIES AND AUTHORITIES OF THE ATTORNEY 14 GENERAL. 15 (a) DUTY TO ADMINISTER AND DISSOLVE OTHER 16 OUTSTANDING OBLIGATIONS AND AFFAIRS.—The Attor- 17 ney General shall— 18 (1) administer and dissolve any outstanding ob- 19 ligations of the Federal Government under any pro- 20 grams terminated by this title; and 21 (2) take such other actions as may be necessary 22 to dissolve any outstanding affairs of the Bureau. 23 (b) OTHER AUTHORITIES.—For purposes of per- 24 forming the functions of the Attorney General under this 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Jul 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3960.IH H3960 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3960 IH title and subject to the availability of appropriations, the 1 Attorney General may— 2 (1) enter into contracts; 3 (2) employ experts and consultants in accord- 4 ance with section 3109 of title 5, United States 5 Code, at rates for individuals not to exceed the per 6 diem rate equivalent to the rate for level IV of the 7 Executive Schedule; and 8 (3) utilize, on a reimbursable basis, the services, 9 facilities, and personnel of other Federal agencies. 10 (c) RULE OF INTERPRETATION.—Nothing in this 11 title may be construed to authorize any position of the 12 Bureau, or authorize the Bureau to perform any function, 13 after the abolishment date. 14 SEC. 106. SAVINGS PROVISIONS. 15 (a) LEGAL DOCUMENTS.—All orders, determinations, 16 rules, and regulations of, permits issued by, grants, loans, 17 contracts, and agreements made by, and certificates, li- 18 censes, and privileges granted by the Bureau, that are in 19 effect on the abolishment date (or become effective after 20 such date pursuant to their terms as in effect on such 21 date), shall continue in effect according to their terms 22 until modified, terminated, superseded, set aside, or re- 23 voked in accordance with law by the President, any other 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Jul 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3960.IH H3960 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3960 IH authorized official, a court of competent jurisdiction, or 1 operation of law. 2 (b) SUITS.—This title shall not affect suits com- 3 menced before the abolishment date, and in all such suits, 4 proceeding shall be had, appeals taken, and judgments 5 rendered in the same manner and with the same effect 6 as if this title had not been enacted. 7 SEC. 107. AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS. 8 All funds available for the performance of functions, 9 programs, and activities terminated pursuant to this title 10 shall remain available, for the duration of their period of 11 availability but not later than September 30, 2022, for 12 necessary expenses in connection with the termination and 13 resolution of the functions, programs, and activities of the 14 Bureau. 15 SEC. 108. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS AND REPEALS. 16 (a) AMENDMENTS RELATING TO TITLE 2, UNITED 17 STATES CODE.— 18 (1) Section 1307(d)(3)(B)(i)(I) of title I of the 19 Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2006 (2 20 U.S.C. 185(d)(3)(B)(i)(I)) is amended by striking ‘‘, 21 including under section 922(g)(9) of title 18’’. 22 (2) Section 1301(d)(3)(B)(i)(I)(cc) of title I of 23 division H of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 24 2008 (2 U.S.C. 1808(d)(3)(B)(i)(I)(cc)) is amended 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Jul 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3960.IH H3960 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3960 IH by striking ‘‘, including under section 922(g)(9) of 1 title 18’’. 2 (b) AMENDMENTS RELATING TO TITLE 5, UNITED 3 STATES CODE.— 4 (1) Section 644 of division J of the Consoli- 5 dated Appropriations Resolution, 2003 (5 U.S.C. 6 552 note) is amended by striking ‘‘, 923(g)(3) or 7 923(g)(7),’’. 8 (2) Section 206 of division B of the Consoli- 9 dated Appropriations Act, 2006 (5 U.S.C. 3104 10 note) is repealed. 11 (3) Section 122 of title I of the Departments of 12 Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and 13 Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 (5 14 U.S.C. 3104 note) is repealed. 15 (4) Section 7323(b)(2)(B)(i) of title 5, United 16 States Code, is amended by striking subclause (XII) 17 and redesignating subclauses (XIII) and (XIV) as 18 subclauses (XII) and (XIII), respectively. 19 (c) AMENDMENTS RELATING TO TITLE 6, UNITED 20 STATES CODE.— 21 (1) Section 1111 of the Homeland Security Act 22 of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 531) is hereby repealed. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Jul 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3960.IH H3960 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 3960 IH (2) Section 1114(a) of such Act (6 U.S.C. 1 532(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘Bureau’’ and in- 2 serting ‘‘Department of Justice’’. 3 (d) AMENDMENTS RELATING TO TITLE 8, UNITED 4 STATES CODE.— 5 (1) Section 101(a)(43) of the Immigration and 6 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(43)) is amend- 7 ed— 8 (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking 9 ‘‘924(c)’’ and inserting ‘‘924(b)’’; and 10 (B) in subparagraph (E)(ii) by striking 11 ‘‘section 922(g)(1), (2), (3), (4), or (5), (j), (n), 12 (o), (p), or (r) or’’. 13 (2) Section 2(4)(J) of the Enhanced Border Se- 14 curity and Visa Entry Reform Act of 2002 (8 15 U.S.C. 1701(2)(4)(J)) is amended by striking ‘‘Bu- 16 reau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explo- 17 sives,’’. 18 (e) AMENDMENT RELATING TO TITLE 10, UNITED 19 STATES CODE.—Section 546 of title V of division A of 20 the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act 21 for Fiscal Year 2019 (10 U.S.C. 113 note) is amended 22 by striking ‘‘section 922(g) of title 18, United States 23 Code, and’’. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Jul 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3960.IH H3960 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 3960 IH (f) AMENDMENT TO TITLE 11, UNITED STATES 1 CODE.—Section 707(c)(1)(B) of title 11, United States 2 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘924(c)(2)’’ and inserting 3 ‘‘924(b)(2)’’. 4 (g) AMENDMENTS RELATING TO TITLE 15, UNITED 5 STATES CODE.— 6 (1) Section 4 of the Protection of Lawfu [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]