ATF DATA Act

H.R. 4174, the ATF DATA Act (ATF Data and Anti-Trafficking Accountability Act), would require the Attorney General, through the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), to publish an extensive annual public report on firearm trace data. Within six months after enactment (and then at least annually), the bill would obligate ATF to provide Congress and make publicly available a year-in-review data set that covers a wide range of trace metrics. The data would include aggregated trace results, detailed information about the top source licensees (the dealers who initially sold firearms), geographic patterns, time-to-crime measures, types of firearms, multiple-sales activity, lost/stolen firearms, privately made firearms (ghost guns), foreign recoveries, and patterns of firearms trafficking. The report also requires an in-depth overview and analysis of trafficking patterns and DOJ trafficking investigations, including how investigations were initiated and the role of unlicensed sales and other factors. The bill defines key terms (such as time-to-crime, source licensee, privately made firearms) to guide the data collection and reporting.