WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) joined fellow Judiciary Committee members Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) on a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to strike down the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)'s definition of "Engaged in the Business" as a Dealer in Firearms. The rule would effectively instate universal background checks by requiring anyone who sells a firearm to register as a federal firearm licensee (FFL), ignoring congressional intent behind existing law and violating the Constitution.
“The Biden administration’s ATF is making a brazen attempt to skirt Congress and the Constitution. The ATF continues to abuse its authority, which is unfortunately consistent with the Biden administration’s track record of executive overreach,” Grassley said. “Biden’s ATF must be held accountable.”
“This rule is proof that the Biden administration is a dishonest broker, and Congress must hold it accountable for its actions in favor of its gun-grabbing liberal base over the Constitutional rights of law-abiding Americans,” Cornyn said. “We will fight this lawless rule tooth and nail to ensure the God-given right to keep and bear arms is preserved and this flagrant distortion of congressional intent of our landmark mental health and school safety law is struck down.”
“It is outrageous that the Biden Administration decided to take a good faith effort to curb the mental health crisis across our country and turn it into an unconstitutional attempt to restrict firearms from law-abiding American citizens,” Tillis said. “This overreach is exactly why Republicans don’t trust this Administration, and it will setback any attempt on future bipartisan legislation as long as President Biden is in office. I encourage my colleagues to support this CRA we introduced and immediately overturn this ridiculous regulation.”
Background:
The ATF rule modifies the meaning of “Engaged in the Business” as a Dealer in Firearms -- which Grassley helped originally define -- to include any person who sells a firearm. This is a bad-faith interpretation of current law, which effectively institutes universal background checks, covers lawful gun owners in unwarranted red tape and overrides protections afforded to occasional sellers and hobbyists.
Grassley’s ATF Oversight:
Grassley and Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) are calling for a full review of ATF’s misclassification of certain employees as law enforcement. This illegal scheme enabled the agency to inflate salaries and benefits for unqualified individuals, wasting millions of taxpayer dollars. The Iowa senators also advocated for small businesses after the ATF forced some to close their doors due to minor clerical errors.
Following the Biden administration’s decision to defund Project Thor, the multi-agency effort that identified and dismantled Mexican arms trafficking networks, Grassley swiftly pressed for answers. Grassley has demanded answers from the ATF regarding its failure to investigate employees’ criminal misconduct, extradite the agency’s most-wanted fugitive and combat drone usage at the southern border. He has also successfully pushed ATF to update its whistleblower policy to comply with the law. Grassley previously spearheaded congressional oversight of the Obama-Biden administration’s botched Operation Fast and Furious, through which ATF agents encouraged gunwalking to Mexico.
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