Everytown Applauds Senate Committee on Appropriations for Supporting Funding for ATF, CVI Programs

WASHINGTON - Today, after a funding bill that includes support for community violence intervention (CVI) programs and maintains funding for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) passed out of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Everytown for Gun Safety released the following statement:

"There are few better investments Congress can make than ensuring law enforcement and community violence intervention organizations have the resources they need to help keep our communities safe," said Monisha Henley, Senior Vice President for Government Affairs at Everytown for Gun Safety. "We're grateful to leaders on the Senate Committee on Appropriations for prioritizing funding ATF and these critical gun safety measures, and we urge Congress to maintain these funding levels in any final bill."

ATF is one of the nation's leading law enforcement agencies. ATF's mission is nonpartisan and noncontroversial: protect the public from violent crime. To do so, ATF helps keep firearms out of the hands of prohibited persons, including convicted felons and domestic abusers. ATF also combats gun traffickers, straw purchasers, and unlicensed sellers who funnel illegal guns to prohibited persons. In addition, ATF regulates the firearms industry to ensure manufacturers and dealers are in compliance with federal law and that those who break the law are held accountable.

ATF partners with other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to investigate and solve gun crimes. These law enforcement agencies depend on ATF and its tools like the National Tracing Center, the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network, and Crime Gun Intelligence.

Congress first established the Department of Justice's Community Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative (CVIPI) on a bipartisan basis in 2022 and has continued to provide bipartisan support to the CVIPI since then through both annual appropriations legislation and the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.

The CVIPI supports violence intervention programs in communities across the United States that provide evidence- and community-informed, comprehensive support to individuals who are at the greatest risk of gun violence.