ATF DATA Act

The ATF DATA Act would require the Attorney General, through the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), to publish comprehensive firearm trace data for the most recently completed calendar year. The data would be shared with Congress and publicly available online, with the initial report due within 180 days of enactment and subsequent annual updates. The data sets cover a wide range of information about firearm traces, including aggregated statistics, the top 200 source licensees (the licensees responsible for the original sale of traced firearms), time-to-crime, multi-sale reporting, lost or stolen firearms, privately made firearms recovered, and various geographic and agency-level breakdowns. The bill also requires an in-depth overview and analysis of firearms trafficking patterns and DOJ trafficking investigations, including factors such as youth involvement, initiation methods, and the role of unlicensed sales. In short, the bill aims to dramatically increase the public availability of granular firearm trace data to support accountability, research, and policy discussions about firearms trafficking, crime, and enforcement.