ATF Considers Move

THE DAILY FED

ATF Considers Move

The Washington Post reports today that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms is soliciting proposals for a new headquarters building which offers more security than its current downtown Washington location. The ATF has been under fire from several militia groups in recent years, and its employees were among those in the Oklahoma City office building bombed in 1995.

ATF would like to be the only occupant of a blast-resistant building with controlled access near station on the Washington area's Metrorail system. Such a building could be located within the District of Columbia or in the Washington suburbs.

If ATF follows recent Justice Department security recommendations, the new building may also include X-ray inspection of mail, television monitoring of the building perimeter, and shatterproof windows.

Several agencies are likely to to re-examine their facilities in the near future as new security recommendations written after the Oklahoma City blast are put into place.