Specialized tasks and more focused prosecutions likely have more of an impact on the number of referrals, Vizzard said. The ATF, an arm of the Treasury Department, was created when Congress passed the Gun Control Act of 1968. Resource shortages and political debates over guns have marked much of the bureau's history. In 1981, President Ronald Reagan announced the elimination of the ATF, only to later reconsider the move. The bureau suffered from image problems after the disastrous 1993 raid on the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, and has been the target of much ire from the National Rifle Association and other gun-rights advocates.
Experts say policy shifts and personnel changes are factors.
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