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Fast and Furious program
Thu, 01/05/2012 - 9:04pm — john
January 5, 2012
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Stanczak,
Thank you for contacting me regarding the "Fast and Furious" program of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). As your Congressman, it is beneficial for me to hear your thoughts on this important issue.
In 2005, the ATF established a program known as Project Gunrunner under the Bush administration with bipartisan support. Mainly intended to stop firearm trafficking along our Southwest border, this initiative was part of the Department of Justice's (DOJ) broader "Southwest Border Initiative" to reduce illegal drugs and firearm trafficking.
In 2009, Project Gunrunner initiated the "Fast and Furious" operation to track small-time gun buyers to gain evidence against major Mexican drug cartels. Recently, it was alleged the ATF facilitated the sale of 2000 firearms to Mexican traffickers. Only 600 have been recovered by officials at this point.
Representative Darrell Issa (R-CA), Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, initiated a congressional probe into this matter. The committee released a report in June 2011 that found the DOJ and ATF knew early on these guns were being trafficked, ATF agents were required to abandon their "follow the gun" training, and ATF agents complained to leadership about letting these guns go and were silenced.
The key officials overseeing "Fast and Furious" Kenneth Melson and Dennis Burke have both resigned after this investigation and 20 more people have been charged. Chairman Issa has vowed to thoroughly investigate this operation. Please be assured, I will monitor this issue closely and hope all involved in this unfortunate abuse of power and government resources are brought to justice.
It was good to hear from you. Please do not hesitate to contact me any time you have an issue of concern before Congress. Also, feel free to visit my website at bucshon.house.gov and sign up for my e-newsletter to receive updates from Washington. It is an honor to serve you and the people of the 8th District of Indiana.
Sincerely,
Larry Bucshon
Member of Congress
