[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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