[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 19]
[Senate]
[Page 26272]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                          GUNS AND TERRORISTS

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I am concerned about the Attorney General's 
decision to deny law enforcement access to the National Instant 
Criminal Background Check System database. According to a December 6 
story in The New York Times, following the events of September 11, FBI 
officials checked the NICS database for the names of 186 suspects being 
detained in connection with the terrorist attacks. The search turned up 
two matches of detained individuals approved to buy guns.
  According to the Attorney General, existing law does not give him the 
authority to approve law enforcement's review of these records. But 
despite knowledge of this gap, the Attorney General did not request 
this authority in the comprehensive USA PATRIOT Act signed into law by 
the President on October 26. Since September 11, over 500 individuals 
have been detained, but law enforcement has not been able to audit the 
NICS database for gun purchases by detained individuals. I believe the 
Attorney General's actions are at odds with his own priorities. That is 
why I was pleased to cosponsor the Use NICS in Terrorist Investigations 
Act introduced by Senators Kennedy and Schumer. This bill would 
establish a 90-day period for law enforcement to retain NICS data. It 
would also give the FBI the authority they need to review the NICS 
database. I urge the Attorney General to endorse this legislation and 
give law enforcement the comprehensive tools they need.

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