The Obama administration appears to have changed course and will support a budget increase for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, says the Washington Post. The White House had planned a proposed 13 percent cut in the agency’s budget. Now, it will call for an increase.
In an editorial, the Post says that, “Chipping away at the agency’s modest budget would do little to reduce the deficits that continue to imperil the country’s financial health, but it could have serious consequences for the effort to ensure that only law-abiding citizens get their hands on lethal weapons.” Because of federal hiring rules, ATF employees brought on to stanch the flow of U.S. guns used by Mexican drug cartels to murder thousands of their compatriots would probably face layoffs if the agency is squeezed.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/02/AR2011020205779.html