Justice Department wants to boost ATF budget to shorten wait for NFA processing

By Daniel Terrill

As the Justice Department moves to regulate bump stocks like machine guns, it’s also proposing to shorten the wait time to transfer such items.
For “combating violent crime,” the Justice Department proposed increasing the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ budget in Fiscal Year 2019 by $13.2 million “to ensure timely execution of National Firearms Act transfers.”
The proposal would also boost ATF’s NFA branch with 25 new positions, according to ATF’s request. The goal is process applications for items like machine guns, silencers, short barreled rifles or shotguns, and firearms deemed Any Other Weapon within 90 days.
According to ATF data, wait times for NFA items vary depending on the item but the agency currently puts average processing time at nine months, or about 270 days. That figure falls within ballpark estimates generated by NFA groups using aggregated data.
The ATF has tried to address the backlog with new funds multiple times, but never referred to it as specifically addressing “violent crime,” according to a review of budget proposals available on the Justice Department’s website.
For FY2018, ATF sought an additional $4 million specifically for “expediting NFA applications.” Last year, the agency reorganized the branch to improve performance by creating a dedicated body

Source: Guns.com