[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Page 2929]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


                      STRAW PURCHASING OF FIREARMS

  Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, last week I introduced bipartisan 
legislation with Senator Collins to combat the straw purchasing and 
trafficking of firearms. We were joined by other Senators from both 
sides of the aisle. We have made good progress since then. Last 
Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted for our bill as an 
amendment to the Stop Illegal Trafficking in Firearms Act, S. 54. This 
is the first legislative vote on measures related to gun violence in 
either the Senate or the House since the Newtown tragedy. Every 
Democratic Senator on the Committee voted in favor of our bill and we 
were joined in that support by the Committee's ranking Republican, 
Senator Grassley. I appreciate Senator Grassley's cooperation in 
getting our bill reported after weeks of consultation and I look 
forward to working closely with him as we move forward.
  The White House called the Judiciary Committee action ``an important 
bipartisan step'' that takes on ``the very serious problem of gun 
trafficking.'' At the signing of the Violence Against Women 
Reauthorization Act and Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization 
Act last Thursday, the President called the Judiciary Committee's 
action on our bill a ``big step'' and ``real progress.'' He noted that 
our bill ``would crack down on folks who buy guns only to turn around 
and funnel them to dangerous criminals.''
  I want to continue to make progress on this legislation and other 
bills that can be effective in reducing illegal gun violence in our 
country. We have the strong support of several leading law enforcement 
organizations including the Fraternal Order of Police, the FBI Agents 
Association, the Major Cities Chiefs Association, the Federal Law 
Enforcement Officers Association, and the National Organization of 
Black Law Enforcement Executives. Last week I received a letter from 
the NAACP lending their strong support to our efforts. I thank all of 
these organizations for their assistance and support.
  Tomorrow, the Judiciary Committee will continue its work on three 
remaining gun violence measures that have been on our agenda for the 
past weeks: Senator Schumer's proposal to expand requirements for 
background checks, Senator Boxer's proposal to enhance the safety of 
our schools, and Senator Feinstein's bill to reinstitute an assault 
weapons ban. I aim by the end of the week to have completed Judiciary 
Committee action on these legislative proposals.
  At the bill signing last Thursday, the President observed that we 
were able finally to pass the Violence Against Women and Trafficking 
Victims Protection legislation on a bipartisan basis because the 
American people spoke up. That is what happened on VAWA when a group of 
House Republicans switched their position to support passing the VAWA 
bill that they had not supported last year.
  That is what is also needed in the context of gun violence 
legislation. Seven of the eight Republican Senators on the Judiciary 
Committee voted against closing the loophole in the law to combat straw 
purchasing and gun trafficking. If we are going to be able to close 
loopholes in our background check system, improve school safety with 
more resources for resource officers that include counselors and 
officers, and if we are going to outlaw straw purchasing and gun 
trafficking, the American people need to speak up and be heard. If 
Congress is going to place limits on high capacity clips, it will be 
because the American people demand such action.
  (The remarks of Mr. Leahy pertaining to the introduction of S. 517 
are printed in today's Record under ``Statements on Introduced Bills 
and Joint Resolutions.'')

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