[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 98 (Monday, June 18, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1321-E1322]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                NICS IMPROVEMENT AMENDMENTS ACT OF 2007

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. BOBBY L. RUSH

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 13, 2007

  Mr. RUSH. Madam Speaker, I rise to voice my strong support of H.R. 
2640, the McCarthy-Dingell National Instant Criminal Background Check 
Improvement Act. It is high time Congress acted to strengthen the gun 
laws in this country and implement common sense policies to ensure that 
guns are not ending up in the wrong hands.
  H.R. 2640 will strengthen the National Instant Background Check 
System (NICS) by creating incentives for states to submit legal records 
about individuals who are not eligible to purchase guns.
  This bill also permits Federal law enforcement grants to be cut for 
states that do not submit such records to the electronic database and 
requires greater information- sharing among Federal agencies.

[[Page E1322]]

  This legislation will make it easier for law enforcement authorities 
to coordinate and work together to make sure guns do not end up in the 
hands of criminals, the mentally ill, and non-citizens.
  This bill will also create a more uniform system of background checks 
to help prevent the type of tragedy that occurred at Virginia Tech, 
where a documented mentally disturbed young man was able to buy guns 
and create devastation and destruction on a college campus.
  Mr. Speaker, I believe this bill is an important first step in 
strengthening our Nation's gun laws and I support this legislation 
enthusiastically and without reservation.
  I am also offering my own legislation, H.R. 2666, Blair's Bill, which 
will create a national gun registry and licensing procedure so we can 
finally begin to get a grip on the deadly issue of gun violence that 
has devastated so many of our communities across the country.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this and other 
sensible gun control laws.

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