[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 17]
[House]
[Pages 22292-22293]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1500
                       PASS COMMONSENSE GUN LAWS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. McCarthy) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, last month the people voiced their 
opinion of the 109th Congress. Their message was loud and clear. It is 
time for common sense, and I hope we can follow the people's lead and 
pass some commonsense legislation coming this January.
  I am particularly interested in commonsense legislation that will 
keep guns out of the hands of criminals without infringing on anyone's 
second amendment right. When it comes to commonsense gun laws, the 
Congress has a dismal record.
  Thus far this Congress has given corrupt and incomplete gun dealers 
immunity from negligent lawsuits. This Congress has made it a crime for 
two police departments to share information from ATF's ballistics 
database. This Congress has tied the hands of law enforcement during 
times of disaster and has made it possible for guns to be brought into 
hurricane shelters.

[[Page 22293]]

  But next year I am hoping for a fresh start when it comes to 
commonsense gun laws. Last spring our Judiciary Committee's 
Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security approved H.R. 
1415, the NICS Improvement Act. That is a bill that I had introduced a 
number of years ago. This is a bill that would improve the 
effectiveness of the existing National Instant Criminal Background 
Check System, the database used to check firearms buyers for any 
criminal record or other disqualifying criteria. Overall, the NICS has 
been a great success. Since 1994 more than 1.2 million individuals have 
been turned down because of a failed background check. NICS also 
provides the vast majority of honest gun sellers with peace of mind in 
knowing that they are selling their products to citizens who will use 
them safely and legally.
  However, the NICS system is only as good as the information that is 
put into it. And, unfortunately, many States do not have the resources 
necessary to enter all of their disqualifying criteria into the NICS 
system. This is thanks, in part, to the many unfunded mandates this 
Congress has imposed upon the States. The end result is that felons and 
others who are not permitted by existing law to buy guns are passing 
background checks and buying guns through legitimate means. In fact, 28 
States have automated less than 75 percent of their criminal history 
records. In 15 States domestic violence restraining orders are not 
accessible through the NICS system.
  Mr. Speaker, each year we see thousands and thousands of people dying 
because of gun violence. We see so many more being wounded because of 
gun violence. We have a chance to enforce the laws that are on the 
books, but we need to help the States get the money to computerize the 
information that they have. We can save lives, number one. We can cut 
down on health care costs. And all that can be done by passing the NICS 
Act.
  The bill was passed a couple years ago. Unfortunately, the Senate ran 
out of time. In January we here in Congress will be working 5 days a 
week; and I am hoping with that we will have the time to pass the laws 
that this country expects us to do, bread-and-butter issues to make us 
safe, to help the economy. We can do this. And I am hoping that the 
Judiciary Committee will bring up the NICS bill, pass it this year, and 
get it over to to Senate so that we can pass it there and have the 
President sign it.
  The people spoke on November 7 and we here in Congress, Republicans 
and Democrats, will be working together. We have very large issues in 
front of us, but let us not forget about the small issues also, those 
quality-of-life issues for our constituents. Let us show America that 
we can do better. This Congress, this next Congress, will do better, 
and we will do a better job.

                          ____________________