Giffords Applauds House Appropriations Committee’s Second Year of Federal Investment in Gun Violence Research

Chairwoman Nita Lowey instrumental as House Committee Appropriates $50 million for proven lifesaving programs

July 13, 2020 — Giffords, the gun violence prevention organization led by Representative Gabrielle Giffords, applauded the House Appropriations Committee for approving its second consecutive Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies funding bill that includes $50 million for gun violence research. The Fiscal Year 2021 bill allocates $25 million for gun violence research at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and $25 million at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), double the amount that Congress approved in Fiscal Year 2020.

The bill’s accompanying report language notes the disproportionate impact of gun violence on communities of color and urges CDC and NIH to support research on community gun violence. The legislation also includes full funding for the National Violent Death Reporting System and $23.2 million to implement the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention.

Adzi Vokhiwa, Giffords Federal Affairs Director:

“Communities grappling with the novel coronavirus find themselves also trying to fend off a crisis of gun violence that never went away. Last year, led by the Democratic Majority, Congress finally took this public safety threat seriously and made a real investment in research to understand how we can best combat it—the first funding of its kind in more than two decades. Today, we build on that investment, and it’s clear that this is just the beginning of making up for lost time.

“Throughout her career, Chairwoman Lowey has been a staunch champion for gun violence prevention who made a breakthrough on this funding possible. We’re so grateful to her and to Chairwoman DeLauro for their leadership, courage, and determination to make these historic investments that will save lives.”

The $25 million appropriated by Congress in its Fiscal Year 2020 funding bill was the first federal funding dedicated to gun violence research since 1996. Prior to the start of the 116th Congress, Giffords launched a partnership with leading medical and public health groups to advocate for research funding at the CDC and the NIH to study gun violence, gun deaths, and gun injury in order to better improve public health and safety. In 2019, the coalition sent multiple letters to Congressional leadership calling for this investment, noting that over the past several decades scientific and medical research has led to policies that have saved countless lives related to automobiles, public sanitation, and cancer. The groups also joined with local partners and elected officials to host rallies for research funding in Denver, Orlando, and New Orleans, which reinforced that communities across the country supported the ability for top federal researchers to study this crisis.

Previously, Giffords brought together national leaders to draw attention to the urgent need for lawmakers to act. In 2016, Giffords organized the last four Surgeons General to call on Congress to properly fund this public health research.