FREE ESSAY ON BUREAU OF ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO

BUREAU OF ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO

BUREAU of ALCOHOL, TOBACCO, and FIREARMS
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms is one of the most important Federal
Agencies we have. It is dedicated to reducing violent crime, collecting revenue and
protecting the public. The ATF, for short, has many different programs for alcohol,
firearms, arson and explosives, and tobacco. 
The ATF has a long background starting in 1789. It serves a huge function to keeping
illegal alcohol and guns off the streets. The ATF is in the news a lot for different
reasons. It is a large agency with tremendous power. The ATF roots have been around for
hundreds of years. It all started in 1789, when the first congress imposed a tax on
alcohol to pay for a war debt. Congressional lawmakers were impressed with the job that
Alexander Hamilton had done with the administrative duties on this tax. By 1862, Congress
created an Office of Internal Revenue within the Treasury Department. It was responsible
for charging the commissioner with collection, among others, of taxes on distilled
spirits and tobacco products that continue today. In 1963 they started hiring agents to
investigate and punish people who tried to get away with tax evasion. The Bureau of
Internal Revenue did many things related with alcohol and tobacco; it became a burden. So
when Prohibition came around they created the Treasury''s Bureau of Prohibition. When
Prohibition ended they created the Federal Alcohol Control Administration, the FACA. This
was short lived so the came up with the FAA, Federal Alcohol Administration. In 1934 the
Alcohol Tax Unit, ATU, was created. At the same time, the FAA, functioning independently
within Treasury, collecting data, to establish license and permit requirements, and
define the regulations that ensure a fair marketplace for the alcohol industry and the
consumer. In 1940 the FAA as and merged with the ATU. In 1952 the Bureau of Internal
Revenue was dismantled. All of its alcohol or tobacco related issues went to the ATU. The
Bureau was renamed the Internal Revenue Service, the IRS. The IRS renamed the ATU the
Alcohol and Tobacco Tax Division. When the Gun Control Act was passed in 1968 it gave
them the responsibility of firearms. Because of this it was renamed to the Alcohol,
Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) Division. This is the ATF we know today.
The government funds it and they get money taxes collected from alcohol, tobacco, and
firearms retailers. It is broken down into four major parts. There are the Alcohol
Programs, Tobacco Programs, Firearms Programs, and Arson & Explosives Programs. The
Alcohol Division is responsible for approving certificates of label approval (COLAs) for
alcoholic beverages. They way it works is that it gets money for every barrel or can of
alcohol. They regulate the alcohol industry. They issue alcohol permits and work to keep
criminals out of the business. The Tobacco Division works about the same. It uses money
given to them by taxes and permits. The job of the Tobacco Division is to ensure the
collection of tobacco taxes and to qualify applicants for permits to manufacture or
import tobacco products or to operate tobacco export warehouses. The Firearms division
investigates armed violent offenders and career criminals, narcotics traffickers,
narco-terrorists, violent gangs, and domestic and international arms traffickers, along
with tax collection, and permit issuing. The Arson & Explosives Division has
responsibilities dedicated to protecting the public, reducing violent crime, and
collecting revenue. It enforces the Federal laws and regulations to explosives and arson.
All of these four divisions are broken down and there are head offices around the nation.
There are currently 14 regions but soon to be 23. These offices control a large area, up
to five states, and regulate everything each division does. The man in charge is the
Director of the ATF. His name is Bradley A. Buckles. He oversees the work of all of the
people under him. He is responsible for many speeches to the press and the public. He was
sworn in on December 20, 1999. He is a man with much passion for the ATF and wants to
accomplish a lot. The largest things they have been in the news about their findings on
crime gun traces, and they got the verdict on the Waco incident. The ATF was found to
have not used excessive force either by firing at Mount Carmel without provocation or by
using indiscriminate gunfire at Mount Carmel. This is a big win because the ATF could
have been in very deep trouble if they were found guilty. The crime gun report gives a
good example of what they do. They found that 43 percent of crime guns were used by
people under 25, and 34 percent of that were youth, as young as 18. They do these types
of reports for all types of guns, alcohol, and tobacco.
I believe that this is one of the most important agencies there is. It has only been
around for 32 years but they have worked on it for over 200 years. They have it set-up as
good as it can be. There are things out there that I don''t even know about and one of
the reasons is the ATF. Keeping illegal alcohol, tobacco and firearms off the streets is
a huge responsibility and we need someone to do it.