WASHINGTON, DC, May 29, 2014 – A bipartisan amendment authored by U.S. Reps. Mike Thompson (D-CA), chair of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, Pete King (R-NY), Elizabeth Esty (D-CT), Joe Heck (R-NV), Mike Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Mike Quigley (D-IL) to strengthen the National Instant Criminal Background Checks System (NICS) passed the U.S. House of Representatives today by a vote of 260-145-1. The amendment provides an additional $19.5 million to help states improve their submissions into the criminal background checks system, bringing NICS funding for Fiscal Year 2015 to $78 million. Thompson offered the amendment on the Floor last night.
“Our national criminal background check system is only as good as the data you put in it, and right now all the information isn’t getting into the system,” said the six Representatives in a joint statement. “When this happens, we can’t enforce the law, and criminals, domestic abusers, or dangerously mentally ill individuals who otherwise wouldn’t pass a background check can slip through the cracks and buy guns. Our bipartisan amendment addresses this dangerous shortfall of information by providing states with the resources they need to get their records into the criminal background checks system.”
