[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 62 (Thursday, April 11, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S2716]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                               Gun Safety

  Mr. President, on another matter, today is a big day for America for 
commonsense gun safety reform.
  This morning, the Biden administration announced a rule expanding 
background checks and closing loopholes for online sales at gun shows, 
a direct result of the bipartisan gun safety law passed 2 years ago.
  This gun safety announcement has been decades in coming. It is the 
first significant expansion of background checks since I led passage of 
the Brady Bill way back in 1993. Today's announcement expanding 
background checks shows change is possible when both sides work 
together, even if progress is hard and halting. After all, a few years 
ago, this announcement would have been unimaginable.
  Because Democrats and Republicans both, together, cast aside the 
influence of groups like the NRA and worked together, today's 
announcement has been made possible. The expansion of background checks 
will save lives. It will be easier to prevent guns from falling into 
the wrong hands. It will show parents, kids, and teachers, and 
Americans everywhere impacted by gun violence that Congress is 
listening.
  We have a lot of work to do. But today is a clear step in the right 
direction.
  As all through the Brady law, today's announcement on background 
checks is a proud moment and a galvanizing one. We should build on 
these historic bills passed in 2022 and cure our Nation of the disease 
of gun violence.