Trace Data Amendment Rejected On Thursday, the Senate Appropriations Committee rejected an amendment to a spending bill (HR 5672) by anti-gun Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) that would have granted mayors like New York City's Michael Bloomberg access to ATF trace data. The best argument for limiting the data to law enforcement: Bloomberg's recent ill-advised use of data to conduct so-called "stings" of out-of-state dealers to create evidence for a civil lawsuit. Bloomberg's publicity stunt interfered with as many as 18 ongoing criminal investigations, possibly imperiling the lives of law enforcement officers, witnesses and law-abiding dealers.