[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 37 (Wednesday, March 29, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1884-S1885]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. FEINSTEIN:
  S. 2310. A bill to amend chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, 
with respect to penalties for licensed firearms dealers; to the 
Committee on the Judiciary.


            firearms dealer penalty flexibility act of 2000

 Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, today I rise to introduce the 
first in a series of several bills I will be proposing to provide law 
enforcement with the tools they need to enforce our current gun laws.

  Let me be clear--I do believe that our current laws need to be 
enhanced. Too many loopholes allow too many criminals to circumvent the 
laws already in place. To that end, I will continue to work on 
legislation to further restrict criminals' access to deadly firearms.
  But it is also clear that we can do better in enforcing the laws 
already on the books. As a result, today I am proposing legislation 
that will tighten up the enforcement of our current laws. The 
legislation I have sent to the desk, the Firearms Dealer Penalty 
Flexibility Act of 2000, will provide the Treasury Department, and the 
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the ability to punish dealers 
according to the severity of their crimes.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in this effort, and I hope the 
National Rifle Association is listening, too. It is time for that 
organization to stop just talking about enforcing our current gun laws, 
and to start supporting legislation to help in that process. So today I 
challenge the NRA to support this bill and others like it. For too 
long, opponents of gun control have talked about enforcement, while at 
the same time working to tie the hands of those that enforce the laws. 
It is time to move forward.
  Now let me describe just what this legislation would accomplish.
  Mr. President, under current law there exists only one penalty for 
firearms dealers who violate the law--revocation of their license. If a 
dealer violates the law, the ATF is left with only two options--
permanently revoke the dealer's license, or do nothing.
  The problem, of course, is that not every violation merits the 
permanent revocation of a dealer's license. The current law is like 
having the death penalty for every crime--from jaywalking to murder. We 
have graduated sanctions in the criminal law because different crimes 
merit different punishment.
  In most instances, the ATF is understandably reluctant to destroy a 
dealer's livelihood--and the dealers know this. As a result, thousands 
of violations every year go unpunished.
  Last year, ATF conducted 11,234 examinations, and reported 3,863 
violations.
  Yet only 20 licenses were actually revoked.
  Almost 4,000 violations, just 20 revocations.
  And this may have actually been the appropriate response. Again, not 
every violation is deserving of revocation. Many of these dealers are 
simply businessmen, who may have made one or two simple mistakes. 
Taking away their livelihood would be inappropriately harsh.
  But at the same time, ATF has informed me that there are other 
dealers out there who are taking advantage of the current system. These 
dealers know that if they commit a violation, they probably won't even 
get caught--after all, with more than 100,000 dealers and only a few 
hundred inspectors, the odds of catching a dealer in the act are slim. 
And even worse than that, these dealers know that even if they are 
caught, and even if ATF does discover a violation or even a pattern of 
violations, it is very unlikely that anything will be done.
  According to ATF, only the most egregious or repeat offenders are 
punished.
  Mr. President, it was clearly not the intent of Congress when passing 
laws to regulate firearms dealers in this country that dealers would be 
effectively immune from those laws.
  The current situation leaves law enforcement with little choice--if 
ATF revokes the license of every dealer that commits a minor violation, 
the NRA would be up in arms. But if they do the right thing under 
current law and allow dealers to stay in business, they are criticized 
for failing to enforce the current law.
  Well the bill I propose today would put an end to this quandary, and 
allow

[[Page S1885]]

the Treasury Department to impose the proper, proportionate penalties 
for the variety of violations currently on the books.

  Specifically, this legislation, supported by the Administration, 
would do the following:
  For willful violations of the law, this legislation would allow the 
Treasury Department to suspend or revoke a dealer's license, or to 
assess a fine of up to $10,000 per violation;
  Those same penalties would be available for any dealer who willfully 
transfers armor piercing ammunition;
  The legislation allows the Treasury Department to negotiate a 
compromise with a dealer at any time;
  And the legislation outlines some clear, procedural protections for 
dealers--
  A right to notice and opportunity for a hearing before any action is 
taken, so that the dealer may be made aware of the charges and seek to 
avert the action;
  A right to written notice of any action taken, including the grounds 
upon which the action was based;
  A right to a prompt hearing after a penalty is assessed, during which 
time the dealer can contest the outcome. This hearing must even be held 
at a location convenient to the dealer;
  If the second hearing is not fruitful, the dealer has an additional 
right to appeal the decision of the Department to federal court, during 
which time any action is stayed.
  Mr. President, these procedural safeguards prevent an aggressive 
agent from pursuing unfair penalties. There are at least three clear 
opportunities for an aggrieved dealer to make his or her case, 
including the right to appeal any decision to federal court.
  As a result, I believe that this bill gives law abiding firearms 
dealers every opportunity necessary to protect themselves against 
unwarranted claims.
  At the same time, this bill provides law enforcement with the variety 
of sanctions necessary to force true compliance with the laws already 
on the books. No more will rogue dealers flout the law knowing that no 
viable recourse is available to law enforcement.
  Once this legislation passes, the punishment will finally fit the 
crime.
  Mr. President, again I challenge the NRA and my colleagues to join me 
in moving this bill forward. We cannot continue to allow miscreant gun 
dealers to ignore the laws passed by this Congress.
                                 ______