STATEMENT: Gun Safety Organization Responds To House Passage Of H.R. 3354, FY18 Minibus Appropriations Bill

September 14, 2017

WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Americans for Responsible Solutions (ARS) , the gun violence prevention organization founded by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and her husband, combat veteran and retired NASA astronaut Captain Mark Kelly, issued the following statement in reaction to the House of Representatives’ passage of H.R. 3354, the Make America Secure and Prosperous Appropriations Act, 2018.

Robin Lloyd, Director of Government Affairs, Americans for Responsible Solutions:

“We are pleased to see a bipartisan commitment to funding the federal background check system and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). We are also glad that the House accepted an amendment to boost funding for programs that are known to work to reduce gun violence in communities that need them most.“However, the removal of language prohibiting ATF from using its appropriated funding to determine whether prohibited individuals should be able to possess guns will have a devastating impact on ATF’s ability to investigate and prevent violent crime. As the primary agency responsible for federal firearms offenses, this prohibition has enabled ATF to prioritize its already-limited resources to use to keep American communities safer for the past 25 years. We are saddened that the House of Representatives is seeking to dismantle, not enforce, our gun laws on the books.”

The bill includes $73 million for the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, which is consistent with the FY17 level, and $1.3 billion for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), which is $35 million above the FY17 enacted level. It also doubles the funding allocated for competitive and evidence-based programs to reduce gun crime and gang violence, raising the amount to $20 million, an increase of $13.5 million over FY17 funding levels. This additional funding will allow for more comprehensive partnerships between U.S. Attorneys and local, state and federal agencies and community stakeholders to address gun and gang violence in heavily impacted communities. In addition, the bill includes ARS-suggested report language encouraging states to consider utilizing funding provided through the Crime Victims Fund to establish or expand hospital-based violence intervention programs, which are proven to help reduce violence.

However, the bill also contains several harmful “riders” that will hinder the enforcement of existing laws. Most notably, the bill removes 25-year old language that prohibits ATF from using federal funds to process individual requests for relief from federal firearms disabilities. The bill also includes language that would hinder ATF’s ability to identify potential gun traffickers and language that discourages federal research into gun violence.

Background About The Harmful Gun Riders In H.R. 3354

Division C: Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Title II removes language included in every ATF funding bill for the past 25 years that prohibits the use of appropriated funds to process and investigate individual relief from firearm disability requests. This language allows ATF to prioritize its limited resources for lifesaving criminal investigations, but its removal would divert this funding currently used to prevent violent crime to instead determine whether prohibited persons should be able to possess guns.

Section 537 hinders the ATF’s ability to fight gun trafficking in Mexico by preventing ATF from requiring gun dealers to report multiple sales of certain weapons to ATF. As a result, this rider would make it easier for gun traffickers to buy certain semiautomatic rifles, which are preferred by the Mexican drug cartels.
Section 530 makes permanent a rider that prohibits ATF from denying an application to import a new model of shotgun. This would limit the ATF’s ability to minimize the risk of dangerous, serviceable shotguns from entering the United States and potentially ending up the in the hands of criminals.
Section 517 makes permanent a rider that prohibits ATF from denying an application to import U.S. origin curios and relics. “Curios and relics” are firearms that are of special interest to collectors, including those manufactured more than 50 years ago. Many dangerous assault rifles were manufactured for military use before 1967 and therefore fall within the definition of curios and relics.

Division F: Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies

Section 210 includes the Dickey Amendment, a dangerous policy rider that has placed a significant chilling effect on federal scientific research into gun violence and its causes since 1996.