FBI Director Robert Mueller protested Tuesday that the steep rise in requests for background checks for gun purchases since the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School could be a problem because of the cuts imposed by sequestration.

Background check requests from licensed gun dealers have risen by 50%, from an average of 54,000 each day to 81,000 every day since Sandy Hook. As a result, the FBI has expanded its staff of 300 to 500 so the background checks can be finished in three days.

Mueller said that if Congress increases the number of background checks, the FBI would need another $100 million over and above the $100 million it already spends to maintain the NICS database.