Editorial Board
Why the Feds Can't Trace Guns
Why would Congress want a federal agency to be inefficient?
So many boxes, so little time.
Photographer: Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty ImagesSome government agencies start out inefficient. Others become inefficient over time. And a precious few have inefficiency thrust upon them.
That last is a fair description of what has happened to the national firearms tracing center, which is operated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The center's work is vital, yet Congress prevents it from doing it well.