[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 129 (Tuesday, July 31, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5465-S5466]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                3D GUNS

  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, finally, on 3D guns, in a short time, 
just a minute or two from now, I will be joining several of my 
colleagues to talk about an issue we have been worried about for quite 
a while--ghost guns. Over the past several years, 3D printing 
technology has advanced to the point where anyone with an internet 
connection is now able to print guns at home.
  A court order has barred companies from posting plans to print guns, 
but a few weeks ago, inexplicably, the Trump administration settled 
with gun activists to allow them to post detailed instructions, plans, 
files, and 3D drawings of weapons on the internet, and this starts 
tomorrow. So, starting tomorrow, all you need is a little money--a 
couple hundred bucks--and you can download a print from the internet to 
make a gun at home. No background check, no criminal history check, no 
certification that the person isn't adjudicated mentally ill or has the 
intent to harm. Even terrorists could avail themselves of this 
technology to print an unlimited amount of home weapons. According to 
the New York Post, more than 1,000 people have downloaded plans to make 
AR-style, 3D-printed guns, and the ban hasn't even been lifted yet.
  The idea of these print-on-command ghost guns is as scary as they 
sound. We should be doing everything in our power to make sure this 
doesn't happen. These guns can go through metal detectors, stadiums, 
and airports: No metal; they are made of plastic only.
  Out of the blue this morning, President Trump tweeted he was looking 
into the matter, months after his own administration caused the problem 
by settling with gun activists and allowing it to happen. From 2010 to 
2017, you couldn't do this. There was an international agreement. The 
Trump administration, because gun activists were pushing, said go ahead 
and do it.
  Now, a day before this happens, President Trump is saying he will 
look into the matter--although he said he would consult the NRA. Hardly 
the great advocates of gun safety in America. I wish President Trump 
had looked into this matter months ago--or even last week--and urged 
the Justice Department and the State Department not to reach the 
settlement in the first place. It is another example--of so many--of 
the President showing up on the scene a day late and a dollar short to 
address a problem his own administration has created. The President's 
tweet this morning gets to the basic incompetence of this 
administration: The left hand doesn't know what the right hand is 
doing, and it has real important consequences for the safety of the 
American people.
  I look forward to joining my colleagues to talk more about this issue 
and what Congress can do about it.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.

[[Page S5466]]

  

  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Kennedy). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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