House Republicans defund critical gun violence prevention programs

WASHINGTON — GIFFORDS, the national gun violence prevention group led by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, released the following statement on the House Appropriations Committee’s advancement of the FY2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. The bill will make Americans less safe. It openly ignores the gun violence epidemic in this country, defunding or reducing funding for numerous research programs that improve our understanding of this crisis, as well as programs that help prevent gun violence. Instead of funding programs and research that have contributed to saving lives from gun violence, House Republicans included $100 million for the Administration’s Make America Healthy Again initiative. 

“Guns are the number one killer of kids and young people in the United States, and gun violence prevention research is critical to fighting this epidemic. Instead of putting the lives of children first, House Republicans are gutting this critical funding at the direction of their gun industry CEO campaign donors. These decisions fundamentally make the country more dangerous,” said GIFFORDS Executive Director Emma Brown. “GIFFORDS won’t stop fighting to ensure these programs are fully funded, and urges legislators to take up the Senate version, which funds these critical programs, in conference committee.” 

An overview of recent gun violence prevention research can be found here.