House Appropriations Committee Rightly Prioritizes Community Violence Initiatives and Gun Violence Prevention in FY22 Bills

Washington, DC — Giffords, the gun violence prevention group led by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, applauds the House Appropriations Committee for approving the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) and Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) Fiscal Year 2022 funding bills and prioritizing efforts to bolster public safety, improve public health, and prevent gun violence.

The Committee continues to show great leadership on addressing the gun violence epidemic by investing $50 million for gun violence research, allocating $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 2021 and 2020.

The Committee built on its investment to address gun violence with an historic allocation of $200 million split between the CJS and LHHS bills, funding a new community violence intervention initiative within the Department of Justice, as well as funding a new complementary community violence initiative based within the CDC. This significant investment will enable the implementation of evidence-informed and community-based strategies, including hospital-based interventions, to reduce violence by delivering comprehensive services to individuals at the highest risk of engaging in or being victimized by interpersonal violence.

Adzi Vokhiwa, Giffords Federal Affairs Director:

“Communities around the country, from major cities to small towns, endured high rates of homicides in 2020, with many continuing to see record levels of gun violence through 2021. It is imperative that the federal government fund programs that address gun violence and help protect communities from preventable tragedies.

“The House Appropriations Committee showed its commitment to addressing the gun violence crisis by providing significant investments into new community-based violence intervention initiatives, incentivizing states to adopt extreme risk and gun licensing laws, as well as continuing to build on past investments into gun violence research funding and funding for the ATF and the FBI. We thank Chairwoman DeLauro and Chairman Cartwright for their leadership and tireless dedication to ensure that the public health and safety of our nation remain top priorities. ”

Funding levels in the FY22 CJS bill for Giffords-supported initiatives, bureaus, and programs to improve gun safety include:

$100 million for a new community violence intervention initiative within the Department of Justice, including $10 million for a new community violence intervention program within the Juvenile Justice Program
$100 million for grants to states to upgrade criminal and mental health records for the NICS background check system, including $25 million for the NICS Act Record Improvement Program (NARIP)
$40 million for a new incentivization program for states to implement extreme risk laws and gun licensing laws
An increase of $70.5 million for the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco and Explosives (ATF), which would enable ATF to more quickly process National Firearms applications, expand implementation of the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network, as well as increase the number of ATF’s industry operations investigators who would be able to prioritize the investigation of gun thefts from licensed firearms dealers
$70 million for the Office of Violence Against Women’s grant program that aids in the investigation of domestic violence and enforcement of protective orders, of which $4 million is for a homicide reduction initiative and up to $8 million of which is for a new domestic violence firearms lethality reduction initiative

Funding levels in the FY22 LHHS bill for Giffords-supported initiatives, bureaus, and programs to address the public health crisis of gun violence include:

$50 million for firearm injury and mortality prevention research, split evenly between the CDC and NIH
$100 million for a new Community Violence Intervention Initiative based within the CDC, which would fund a broad range of evidence-based community violence interventions
$34.5 million for the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS), an increase of $10 million from FY21. NVDRS is the most comprehensive database for violent death related data within the U.S., which helps inform our approaches to violence prevention
Increased funding for Suicide Prevention Programs, including more funding for the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention and the Zero Suicide program
Increased funding for Project AWARE grants, which assist high-risk youth and families and promote resilience and equity in communities that have recently faced civil unrest, including police violence

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