[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 28 (Thursday, March 10, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E413-E414]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




INTRODUCTION OF THE TERRORIST APPREHENSION RECORD RETENTION ACT OF 2005

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JOHN CONYERS, JR.

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 10, 2005

  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing the bipartisan 
``Terrorist Apprehension Record Retention Act of 2005'' or ``TARR 
Act,'' legislation designed to make it much easier for State and 
Federal counterterrorism officials to track known or suspected members 
of a terrorist organization who attempt to purchase dangerous firearms 
here in the U.S. I am joined by Representative Christopher Shays of 
Connecticut.
  According to a recently released Government Accountability Office 
(``GAO'') report, over the course of a nine-month span last year, a 
total of fifty-six (56) firearm purchase attempts were made by 
individuals designated as known or suspected terrorists by the Federal 
Government. In forty-seven (47) of those cases, State and Federal 
authorities were forced to permit such transactions to proceed because 
officials were unable to find any disqualifying information (such as a 
prior felony conviction or court-determined `mental defect') in the 
individual applicant's background. Under current law, neither suspected 
nor actual membership in a terrorist organization is a sufficient 
ground, in and of itself, to prevent such a purchase from taking place.
       Even more troubling than this apparent loophole in our 
     current system of gun laws is

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     the confusion which ensued after such transactions occurred. 
     The GAO specifically determined that, in such instances, the 
     Department of Justice's information-sharing procedures failed 
     to adequately ``address the specific types of information 
     from NICS transactions that can or should be provided to 
     Federal counterterrorism officials or the sources from which 
     such information can be obtained.''
       The TARR Act seeks to correct this problem by making two 
     simple, yet important, changes in current law. First, the 
     bill would require all information regarding such 
     transactions to be shared with all appropriate 
     counterterrorism officials at the State and Federal level. 
     Secondly, it would impose a ten year retention requirement on 
     any records related to those transactions. In sum, the bill 
     proposes two modest changes which--in the long run--will go 
     along way towards keeping our homeland truly secure.
       I am hopeful that Congress can move quickly to enact this 
     worthwhile and timely legislation.

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