[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 195 (Wednesday, December 19, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S15970-S15971]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                NICS IMPROVEMENT AMENDMENTS ACT OF 2007

  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent the Judiciary 
Committee be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 2640 and the 
Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk 
will report the bill by title.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (H.R. 2640) to improve the National Instant Criminal 
     Background Check System, and for other purposes.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, today, the Senate took an important step 
forward to improve the National Instant Criminal Background Check 
System, NICS, the Nation's background check system for gun purchases. 
Along with Senator Schumer, I have worked hard to craft this compromise 
legislation that respects the rights of gun owners and, at the same 
time, makes sure that the NICS system will work more effectively. This 
compromise has not been easy, as many have strong views on issues 
surrounding this bill, but working with Senators on both sides of the 
aisle, we have forged strong, fair legislation to address serious 
shortcomings in the Federal program. Throughout the process, we have 
taken great care to make sure Federal law governing who can own or 
possess a firearm remains unchanged. The Senate language makes clear 
that the correct records will go into the NICS system, that any records 
improperly in NICS will be removed promptly, that legal notice and due 
process considerations will be required in Federal proceedings, and 
that the States have sufficient support to meet the goals of the bill. 
We have been responsive to the legitimate concerns of veterans and 
advocates on both sides of the issue, and at the same time, we have 
worked hard to correct weaknesses that have been exposed by the tragic 
events of the last year.
  The senseless loss of life at Virginia Tech this spring revealed 
serious flaws in the NICS system, particularly in the transfer of 
mental health information

[[Page S15971]]

relevant to gun purchases between the States and the Federal 
Government. Deficiencies in the current NICS system, including a 
significant lack of funding, permitted the perpetrator of this terrible 
crime to obtain firearms and ammunition despite having a mental health 
history that made him ineligible to buy or possess a firearm under 
Federal law. He was able to pass a background check and purchase the 
weapons he used in his attacks because data was missing from the NICS 
system.
  In response to this devastating tragedy, the Judiciary Committee 
worked hard to produce a comprehensive legislative proposal related to 
issues of school safety, and in August unanimously reported the School 
Safety and Law Enforcement Improvement Act of 2007, SSLEIA, to the full 
Senate. As part of this legislative package, we drafted title II of 
SSLEIA to include an amended version of the NICS Amendment Improvement 
Act of 2007, H.R. 2640, that passed the House in July. Today, the 
Senate passed a revision of title II from SSLEIA, as the Leahy-Schumer 
amendment to H.R. 2640, which closes the gaps in the NICS system that 
allowed the purchase of the firearms that were used in the Virginia 
Tech killings. I hope the House of Representatives will take up and 
pass H.R. 2640, as amended, as soon as possible.
  The Leahy-Schumer amendment largely mirrors the language of H.R. 2640 
as passed by the House. But it also makes modest but important changes 
to that bill in order to ensure this new law works effectively and 
fairly for all Americans. It creates a legal regime where the reporting 
of disqualifying mental health records, both at the State and Federal 
levels, will be improved. This bill will also require Federal agencies 
to report mental health and other disqualifying records into NICS and 
would create significant new incentives for States to report this same 
information. These basic features of the amendment are the same as in 
the House bill. Additionally, the bill contains provisions directing 
Federal agencies to establish relief from disabilities programs through 
which individuals who have overcome a disqualifying mental illness or 
disability may reclaim their rights, and urges the States to do the 
same.
  As I reviewed this issue, however, I determined that additional 
changes were necessary both to improve the NICS system further and to 
better enable States like Vermont to implement these improvements. By 
tempering the penalties for insufficient participation by the States in 
meeting the bill's goals, and increasing incentives for full 
participation, I am hopeful that the bill will strengthen the 
partnership between Federal and State authorities in search of a common 
goal. The NICS system is only as good as the information that is 
reported into it, and to achieve success in improving NICS, we must 
recognize and adequately support the States in this challenging 
undertaking.
  I want to thank Paco Aumond, director of Criminal Justice Services at 
the Vermont Department of Public Safety, for working with me to 
identify those changes in the legislation to ensure that Vermont and 
the many similarly situated States will be more easily able to make the 
comprehensive improvements necessary for a more effective NICS system.
  Nothing can bring back the lives tragically lost at Virginia Tech, 
and no legislation can be a panacea, but the bill we pass today will 
begin to repair and restore our faith in the NICS system and may help 
prevent similar tragedies in the future.
  Mr. SCHUMER. I ask unanimous consent a Leahy-Schumer substitute 
amendment at the desk be agreed to, the bill as amended be read a third 
time and passed, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table with 
no intervening action or debate, and that any statements related to the 
bill be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The substitute amendment (No. 3887) was agreed to.
  (The text of the amendment is printed in today's Record under ``Text 
of Amendments.'')

       The bill (H.R. 2640), as amended, was read the third time 
     and passed.

  The amendment was ordered to be engrossed and the bill to be read a 
third time.

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