[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 5]
[House]
[Pages 6354-6355]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        MULTIPLE SALES REPORTING

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Quigley) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. QUIGLEY. Mr. Speaker, last week the ATF announced the results of 
the first 8 months of its Multiple Sales Reporting program, or MSR, for 
semiautomatic rifles. The numbers prove

[[Page 6355]]

the MSR is already an invaluable tool in fighting gun trafficking along 
the southwest border. There were more than 3,000 reports accounting for 
the purchase of 7,300 rifles between Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and 
California. These reports resulted in more than 120 criminal 
investigations; and, subsequently, 25 cases involving 100 defendants 
have been recommended for prosecution. The ATF also reported a decline 
in large volume rifle purchases, indicating that traffickers are 
altering their criminal activity due to the new reporting requirement.
  The MSR program was created to counteract the dangerous trafficking 
of guns along our border with Mexico. These guns fuel the cartels' war 
in Mexico, destabilizing our southern neighbor and third-largest 
trading partner. According to ATF data, 70 percent of the firearms 
recovered and traced from drug cartel crimes in Mexico originated in 
the United States.
  So in light of the positive impact the MSR has had, what is the House 
voting to do just this week? That's right, repeal the measure. A policy 
rider in the Commerce, Justice, and Science 2013 appropriations bill 
would cut off funding for reporting the sale of multiple semiautomatic 
rifles. Yes, this House will vote to block funding that is successfully 
removing semiautomatic rifles from the underground gun trade. These are 
the guns that endanger Americans along the border and fuel an all-out 
war in a neighboring country. Ending the MSR requirement is not about 
protecting anyone's rights.
  Reporting the sale of multiple semiautomatic rifles does not infringe 
on Second Amendment rights. In fact, a similar Multiple Sales Reporting 
requirement has been in place for handguns for over 20 years. The 
necessary paperwork takes gun dealers 12 minutes to complete, but can 
give law enforcement crucial intelligence on straw purchased rifles.
  A George Bush-appointed Federal judge upheld the MSR requirement, 
finding that it did not disturb the balance between regulation and a 
gun owner's right to privacy. So the gun lobby has now turned to 
cutting its funding because why allow programs successfully fighting 
gun trafficking to continue undisturbed? This has become an all-too-
familiar event for the ATF, which has operated under temporary 
leadership since 2006 due to blocked confirmation in the Senate. But 
it's beyond just that administration.
  According to The Washington Post, in 2010, the ATF had the same 
number of agents it had in 1970 while the FBI has grown by 50 percent 
and the DEA by 233 percent. Gun ownership records are kept on paper 
because the NRA has successfully lobbied against funding computerized 
records.
  With recordkeeping from the fifties and funding from the seventies, 
it's no wonder law enforcement struggles in 2012. So maybe it's not 
surprising the MSR program would encounter such heated opposition. An 
effective investigative tool for law enforcement with only a negligible 
effect on gun dealers, that would be evidence of regulatory solutions 
that can work for everyone--the dealers, the buyers, and, most 
importantly, the public. And that's exactly what the gun lobby doesn't 
want.
  If commonsense solutions like Multiple Sales Reporting can stand, 
what's next? Requiring background checks for sales at gun shows, which 
69 percent of NRA members support? Denying people on the terrorist 
watch list the right to buy a gun?
  To the gun lobby, there's nothing scarier than common sense winning 
out. So this week, let's scare them. Let's win one for common sense. 
Let's keep reporting the sale of multiple semiautomatic rifles like we 
do with handguns. Let's allow the ATF to continue making progress 
against dangerous gun trafficking on our southwest border. Let's make a 
choice that's best for law enforcement, our security, and for common 
sense.

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