[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 14]
[House]
[Page 19937]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    CLOSE THE TERRORIST GUN LOOPHOLE

  (Mr. HUFFMAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the House passed bipartisan 
legislation to better protect our Nation by making our Visa Waiver 
Program more rigorous. That is because we recognized, on a bipartisan 
basis, that legal loopholes that make Americans less safe must be 
closed.
  Why can't we bring that same spirit to commonsense gun violence 
legislation? That is a rhetorical question because I think we all know 
that the gun manufacturing and sales industry and their puppet, the 
NRA, have a stranglehold on the Republican majority in this Congress 
that has kept Congress silent for years on this issue, but that silence 
will no longer be tolerated.
  More than 2,000 suspects on the FBI terrorist watch list have legally 
purchased guns in the United States in recent years. Thankfully, one 
brave Republican has dared to confront the gun lobby by introducing a 
bill to close this loophole. I demand a vote on that bill.
  Americans are tired of hearing thoughts and prayers in response to 
mass shootings. They are sick of our regularly scheduled moments of 
silence. Our silence has become the problem.
  Americans want action to address the gun violence epidemic in this 
country. There is no better way to start than the bipartisan bill 
prohibiting suspected terrorists on the terrorist watch list from 
stockpiling assault weapons.
  Let's have a vote on H.R. 1076. It is time to end Congress' shameful 
silence on this critical national security issue.

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