This document provides information about the date of the applicable newsletters and specific topic found within those newsletters.

The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (the Act) was enacted on April 24, 1996. Section 732 of the Act mandates the Secretary of the Treasury (the Secretary) to conduct a study of: the tagging of explosive materials, rendering common chemicals used to manufacture explosive materials inert, imposing controls on certain precursor chemicals and, State licensing requirements for the purchase and use of commercial high explosives. On September 30, 1996, an amendment included in the Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 1997 (Amendment) provided the necessary funding for the study and added a requirement that the Secretary, in consultation with the Attorney General, concurrently report to Congress on the possible use and exploitation of new prevention technologies.

On November 14, 1997, the President and the Secretary of the Treasury ordered a review of the importation of certain modified versions of semiautomatic assault rifles into the United States.1 The decision to conduct this review stemmed in part from concerns expressed by members of Congress and others that the rifles being imported were essentially the same as semiautomatic assault rifles previously determined to be nonimportable in a 1989 decision by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF). The decision also stemmed from the fact that nearly 10 years had passed since the last comprehensive review of the importation of rifles, and many new rifles had been developed during this time.

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