[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 179 (Thursday, December 10, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1763-E1764]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR H.R. 1076 ``DENYING FIREARMS AND EXPLOSIVES TO 
                   DANGEROUS TERRORISTS ACT OF 2015''

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 10, 2015

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, the past few months have been marked by 
senseless violence across the globe and in our own country from Tuscon, 
Aurora, Sandy Hook, Charleston, Chattanooga, Roseburg, and now most 
recently in San Bernardino, California.
  It is past time that we come together united by our common humanity 
and with this simple message: the violence must stop! The senseless 
mass shootings in Paris and San Bernardino remind us of the imperative 
of ending gun violence in our country. And there are actions that can 
be taken to reduce gun violence beginning with the enactment of the 
bipartisan ``Denying Firearms and Explosives to Dangerous Terrorists 
Public Act of 2015'' (H.R. 1076).
  This bipartisan legislation, which I am proud to co-sponsor, would 
close the dangerous loophole that allows terrorist suspects to legally 
buy deadly weapons. H.R. 1076 would bar the sale or distribution of 
firearms to any individual whom the Attorney General has determined to 
be engaged in terrorist activities. It also would grant the Attorney 
General the authority to deny a firearms license to individuals for 
whom there is a reasonable belief that the individual may use a firearm 
or explosive in connection with terrorist activity.
  Mr. Speaker, according to a report by the Government Accountability 
Office, since 2004 more than 2,000 suspects on the FBI's Terrorist 
Watchlist have successfully purchased weapons in the United States. It 
is simply intolerable that more than 90 percent of all suspected 
terrorists who attempted to purchase guns in the last 11 years walked 
away with the weapon they wanted, with just 190 rejected despite their 
ominous histories.
  This legislation was originally crafted in 2007 and endorsed by 
President Bush's Justice Department, has bipartisan support in the 
House, and is supported by prominent Republicans and counter-terrorism 
& law enforcement experts.
  H.R. 1076 greatly reduces the likelihood that terrorists can obtain 
some of the most lethal weapons in America. Right now a terrorist can 
buy a firearm in the parking lot of a gun show, over the internet, or 
through a newspaper ad without needing a background check.
  Mr. Speaker, you cannot be against criminals, terrorists and the 
dangerously mentally ill getting guns and be against H.R. 1076. I thank 
Congressmen Peter King (R-NY) and Mike Thompson (D-CA) for introducing 
this bipartisan legislation (H.R. 1076).
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1076 will save lives and strengthen the rights of 
law-abiding gun owners. It deserves a vote in the House.

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