The possible merger of two federal law enforcement agencies would not affect personnel or programs at Redstone Arsenal, the head of the Justice Department told a House panel Monday.

In response to questions from Republican Rep. Dale Strong, whose 5th Congressional District includes Huntsville and Redstone, U.S. Attorney Pam Bondi said “There are no cuts planned” for Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives operations in the Rocket City.

The Justice Department is considering combining the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives into a single agency, “to achieve efficiencies in resources, case deconfliction, and regulatory efforts,” according to a March memo. Whether a merger would result in personnel cuts at major centers like Redstone has previously been unclear.

ATF does not release staffing numbers at its field locations as a matter of policy. But it employs agents and specialists in arson, explosives, K-9 operations and more at the National Center for Explosives Training and Research and the U.S. Bomb Data Center on the Arsenal, which is also home to the FBI’s Hazardous Devices School and the Terrorist Explosive Device Analytics Center.

That all gives Huntsville a critical mass of investigative knowledge into explosives and arson, Bondi said, which would be preserved under any agency merger.

“Those agents will be working hand-in-hand (with the DEA); the bureaucracy at the top will be gone, there will be no redundancy,” Bondi said at a hearing on the department’s budget request before a subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee.

Strong also asked the top U.S. law enforcement agent whether she supported the FBI’s plans to move additional personnel from the Capital Region to north Alabama.

FBI Director Kash Patel has previously stated up to 1,400 personnel could be moved over the next three years. Recent media reports indicate the FBI is considering relocating some of its training programs from northern Virginia to north Alabama as well.

Bondi said she supported the moves, adding that building up the FBI presence at Redstone would enhance the bureau’s mission as well as training opportunities for multiple agencies.

“Huntsville provides the most cost-effective location, with distinct partnership opportunities, and we support all that is happening there,” she said.