WASHINGTON – Following rising concerns over the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms’ (ATF) classification review process, U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) joined his colleagues in introducing the ATF Accountability Act of 2023. Among other provisions, the legislation will establish an appeals process to classification reviews, allowing gun manufacturers to challenge classification decisions they believe to harm businesses or violate the Second Amendment.

The existing classification review determines whether a particular firearm is regulated by the National Firearms Act, shaping the manufacturing, sale, and possession of various firearms and related items. The ATF's approach to this process lacks transparency, often issuing decisions and justifications to manufacturers through private correspondence with little options for recourse.

"Ensuring fair administrative procedures is vital for law-abiding gun owners. The Biden administration's use of crushing regulatory tactics, like the ATF's secretive classification process, has deprived citizens' constitutional right to bear arms and created uncertainty for manufacturers,” said Cramer. “We need to ensure transparency within the ATF, promote timely access to classification decisions, and fix the absence of an appeal process for manufacturers facing classification errors."

The ATF Accountability Act of 2023 is supported by the Firearms Regulatory Accountability Coalition and backed by the National Rifle Association, further highlighting its importance to the firearms community.

Senator Cramer has been vocal about the constitutional right to bear arms. In November, he co-led a bicameral amicus brief with U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) to uphold the rights of all Americans to keep and bear arms, especially veterans and disabled individuals who need assistance to exercise their rights. In June, he issued a statement after voting for a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to block the ATF from reclassifying pistols with stabilizing braces as short-barreled rifles.

In March of 2022, Senator Cramer joined colleagues in demanding answers from ATF on its actions to prevent the creation and possession of suppressors. Previously, he also cosponsored the ATF Accountability Act of 2021 (S.1920) in the 117th Congress. 

U.S. Senator Mike Braun (R-IN) led the ATF Accountability Act of 2023 in the Senate. Additional cosponsors include U.S. Senators John Barrasso (R-WY), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Steve Daines (R-MT), Josh Hawley (R-MO), John Hoeven (R-ND), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), James Lankford (R-OK), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), James Risch (R-ID), and Rick Scott (R-FL).

Click here for bill text.