[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 28 (Tuesday, March 7, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H601-H602]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1930
       NATIONAL INTEGRATED BALLISTIC INFORMATION NETWORK PROGRAM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Dent). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. McCarthy) is recognized for 
5 minutes.
  Mrs. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, once again we are threatened budget cuts 
that affect our local law enforcement agencies' effectiveness. Not only 
is the COPS program facing cuts and the criminal background check 
system for firearm purchases underfunded, but now the National 
Integrated Ballistic Information Network program is also in jeopardy.
  The NIBIN is used by forensic experts to analyze the unique marks 
made on bullets and cartridge cases when guns are fired. The images of 
these markings can be compared with other images in more than 200 
Federal, State, and local law enforcement laboratories. By tracing and 
comparing these markings, police can track the history of a gun used in 
a crime. They can determine which crimes are related and make sure the 
appropriate law enforcement agencies are working together to find the 
criminals responsible for these crimes.
  NIBIN makes law enforcement agencies more efficient by making sure 
that two agencies are not duplicating their work. In large part, NIBIN 
has been a success. Last year, the Los Angeles Police Department 
arrested a man for vandalism and possession of a firearm. The gun was 
tested and identified as being used in an attempted murder only a month 
before. If not for ballistics testing, this individual would have gone 
free and the attempted murder case would still be unsolved.
  In my own State of New York, an individual was arrested for unlawful 
possession of a weapon. The gun was entered into the NIBIN database and 
was discovered to have been used in an unsolved assault with a deadly 
weapon incident that occurred in a different jurisdiction. Again, a 
violent criminal was taken off the streets because of ballistics 
testing. This is happening on a daily basis.
  There are countless other success stories throughout our Nation; but, 
unfortunately, NIBIN's future is in doubt. Budget cuts are jeopardizing 
the future of this program. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms 
administers NIBIN and may be forced to cut spending unless Congress 
acts. Cutting funding of this great program would be a tragedy 
resulting in more criminals getting away with horrendous acts of 
violence. ATF needs more, not less, funding for this particular 
program.
  A Department of Justice report last year said the ATF needs to better 
promote and improve NIBIN. Many law enforcement agencies do not 
participate in NIBIN simply because they do not have the resources to 
enter the information into the database. The Justice Department report 
suggests purchasing equipment for high-crime areas and developing a 
plan for lower-incidence areas to share ballistics technology.
  The report also states it is imperative that we deal with the backlog 
of ballistic evidence not yet entered into the database. A similar 
problem exists in the National Instant Background Check system, and I 
have introduced legislation to give States grants to make sure that 
data is entered.
  We must also fund new ballistic technologies that can provide matches 
on portions or fragments of bullets found at crime scenes. Mr. Speaker, 
since 9/11 our law enforcement officers have accepted new 
responsibilities in the war on terror. But this current budget wants to 
cut programs that staff local police forces and provides them with 
bullet-proof vests. Let us work together to make their jobs easier, not 
more difficult. Let us fully fund the ATF's National Integrated 
Ballistic Information Network. This will catch repeated offenders 
before they commit another crime and make sure our law enforcement 
agencies are on the same page when it comes to investigating crimes 
that have been related.


             A Visit to Areas Affected by Hurricane Katrina

  Mr. Speaker, I also want to take a moment or two to talk about the 
trip that we had with Speaker Hastert and Leader Pelosi on Thursday, 
Friday, and Saturday. With grateful thanks to Speaker Hastert, he took 
us down to Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama, mainly to see the 
disaster areas 6 months later and what is happening in those States.
  The American people, I know, tend to forget what is going on; but 
when you go to these States, they need our help desperately. I have 
been watching CNN and certainly have followed what is going on down 
there; but when you see it with your own eyes, it is more than anyone 
can ever imagine: to see whole trailer trucks just thrown into the 
wetlands due to force of this hurricane; to see the housing just 
collapsing on a daily basis; and to see our local government officials 
trying to make ends meets but without a budget because there are no 
businesses that provide a

[[Page H602]]

tax base. There are no homes there. And the people certainly have to 
come back to bring back the communities.
  In my opinion, it is up to the Federal Government. I know we are 
trying, but we have to do a little bit better. It is our moral 
responsibility to help these people. We never know when a disaster will 
happen in our own back yard, so I hope the American people do not 
forget the people of Hurricane Katrina. There is still much work to be 
done.

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