[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 148 (Wednesday, November 9, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S12604]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   MAYORS SUPPORT THE TERRORIST APPREHENSION AND RECORD RETENTION ACT

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, our Nation's gun safety laws do not go far 
enough to protect our families and communities and may leave us 
vulnerable to an attack by terrorists using military style firearms 
legally purchased within our own borders. Current law not only allows a 
known or suspected terrorist to buy firearms in the U.S., it also 
requires that records pertaining to the sale be destroyed within a day 
of the purchase. Congress should take proactive steps to address these 
shortfalls in our gun safety laws.
  Federal law requires that anyone seeking to purchase or obtain a 
permit to possess, acquire, or carry firearms undergo a background 
check through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or 
NICS. This process requires the applicant to provide a variety of 
personal information including name, date of birth, current residence, 
and country of citizenship which is then compared with data in the NICS 
system to determine whether or not the person is prohibited by law from 
receiving or possessing firearms. Disqualifying criteria includes such 
things as felony convictions and fugitive or illegal alien status.
  As part of the background check, applicants are also checked against 
known terrorist watch lists. However, under current law, membership in 
a known terrorist organization does not automatically disqualify an 
applicant from receiving or possessing a firearm. In cases where a 
positive match is made, federal authorities search for other 
disqualifying information. If no disqualifying information can be found 
within three business days, the transaction is permitted to continue. 
In addition, all records pertaining to a positive match of an applicant 
to a terrorist watch list must, under current law, be destroyed within 
24 hours if no disqualifying information is found.
  I have cosponsored the Terrorist Apprehension Record Retention Act 
introduced by Senator Lautenberg. This bill would require that in cases 
where an NICS background check turns up a valid match to a terrorist 
watch list, all records pertaining to the transaction be retained for 
ten years. In addition, the bill requires that all NICS information be 
shared with appropriate federal and state counterterrorism officials 
anytime an individual on a terrorist watch list attempts to buy a 
firearm. This is only common sense.
  The U.S. Conference of Mayors, which represents some 1,183 cities 
around the country, adopted a resolution strongly supporting the 
Terrorist Apprehension and Record Retention Act at their 2005 annual 
meeting. The resolution cites a report by the General Accountability 
Office which found that from February 3, 2004 through June 30, 2004, a 
total of 44 firearm purchase attempts were made by individuals 
designated as known or suspected terrorists by the federal government. 
This is an alarming statistic. I ask unanimous consent that a copy of 
the resolution adopted by the U.S. Conference of Mayors be printed in 
the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

       The Terrorist Apprehension and Record Retention (TARR) Act

       Whereas, neither suspected nor actual membership in a 
     terrorist organization by itself prohibits a person from 
     owning a gun under current law; and
       lWhereas, beginning in November of 2003, the U.S. 
     Department of Justice directed the FBI to revise its 
     procedures to better ensure that suspected members of 
     terrorist organizations who have disqualifying factors do not 
     receive firearms in violation of the law by automatically 
     delaying responses to provide more time to check data; and
       Whereas, in January of 2005, the U.S. Government Accounting 
     Office (GAO) released a report entitled, ``Gun Control and 
     Terrorism: FBI Could Better Manage Firearm-Related Background 
     Checks Involving Terrorist Watch List Records''; and
       Whereas, that report found that from February 3 through 
     June 30, 2004, a total of 44 firearm related background 
     checks handled by the FBI and state agencies resulted in 
     valid matches with terrorist watch records, and of this total 
     35 transactions were allowed to proceed because the checks 
     found no prohibiting information, such as felony convictions, 
     illegal immigrant status, or other disqualifying factors; and
       Whereas, the report states, ``GAO recommends that the 
     Attorney General (1) clarify procedures to ensure that the 
     maximum amount of allowable information from these background 
     checks is consistently shared with counterterrorism officials 
     and (2) either strengthen the FBI's oversight of state 
     agencies or have the FBI centrally manage all valid match 
     background checks. The Department of Justice agreed.''; and
       Whereas, legislation has been introduced in the U.S. Senate 
     and House of Representatives entitled the ``Terrorist 
     Apprehension and Record Retention (TARR) Act''; and
       Whereas, the TARR Act amends the Federal criminal code to 
     provide that if the national criminal background check system 
     indicates that a person attempting to purchase a firearm or 
     applying for a State permit to possess, acquire, or carry a 
     firearm is identified as a known or suspected member of a 
     terrorist organization in records maintained by the 
     Department of Justice or the Department of Homeland Security, 
     including the violent Gang and Terrorist Organization File or 
     records maintained by the Intelligence Community: (1) all 
     information related to the prospective transaction shall be 
     automatically and immediately transmitted to the appropriate 
     Federal and State counterterrorism officials, including the 
     Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); (2) the FBI shall 
     coordinate the response; and (3) all records generated in the 
     course of the check that are obtained by Federal and State 
     officials shall be retained for at least ten years, Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the U.S. Conference of Mayors strongly 
     supports the Terrorist Apprehension and Record Retention Act 
     (TARR), and urges that it be passed by Congress and signed 
     into law by the President.

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, the U.S. Conference of Mayors recognizes 
the importance of preserving records of gun purchases by known 
terrorists and the important role they could potentially play in 
uncovering a terrorist attack before it is carried out. We owe it to 
all Americans in this era of heightened risk of terrorist attack to do 
all we can to protect their safety.

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