Bill Summary
This bill, known as the National Gun Violence Research Act, aims to establish a coordinated national research program to study the causes, consequences, and prevention of violence and unintended injury and death related to gun ownership, use, and trafficking. It highlights the alarming statistics of gun violence in the United States and acknowledges the need for more research and data to inform effective strategies for reducing it. The bill repeals previous restrictions on gun trace data and allows for federal funding to be used for gun violence research. It also establishes an interagency working group and advisory committee to oversee and assess the program, and outlines the responsibilities of various federal agencies in conducting and supporting research on gun violence. Overall, the bill aims to improve public health and safety through evidence-based research and policies.
Possible Impacts
1) The National Gun Violence Research Act could potentially lead to an increase in federal funding for research on gun violence, allowing for more studies to be conducted on the topic. This could provide valuable information on the causes and consequences of gun violence, and inform the development of effective policies and interventions to prevent it.
2) The Act could also lead to the establishment of a National Center for Violence Research, which could provide educational and training opportunities for researchers in the field. This could potentially increase the number of researchers and students focusing on gun violence, leading to a better understanding of the issue and potential solutions.
3) The Act could also have an impact on the gun industry, as it calls for research on the effects of gun policy interventions. This could potentially lead to changes in regulations and safety standards for guns, which could affect gun manufacturers and their customers.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 435 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 435
To provide for a coordinated national research program to examine the
nature, causes, consequences, and prevention of violence and unintended
injury and death relating to gun ownership, use, and trafficking, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 10, 2019
Ms. Johnson of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred
to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on
Science, Space, and Technology, and Energy and Commerce, for a period
to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the
committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide for a coordinated national research program to examine the
nature, causes, consequences, and prevention of violence and unintended
injury and death relating to gun ownership, use, and trafficking, and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``National Gun Violence Research
Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) In the last 50 years, more individuals in the United
States have died from gunshots than in all wars in which the
United States was a combatant, combined.
(2) The rate of gun violence deaths in the United States is
more than double that of other high-income nations.
(3) Guns accounted for 74 percent of homicides and 51
percent of suicides in 2016, totaling over 37,000 deaths in the
United States.
(4) Gun violence disproportionately affects racial
minorities, with African Americans comprising nearly 60 percent
of homicide victims and 22 percent of unintentional injury
deaths in 2016.
(5) Provisions in appropriations Acts dating back to 1996
have had a chilling effect on Federal funding for research on
gun violence across the Federal Government and, as a result,
research on gun violence is significantly underfunded relative
to other leading causes of death.
(6) Research examining the nature, causes, consequences,
and prevention of gun-related violence, suicide, and
unintentional injury and death does not constitute advocacy in
support of, or opposition to, gun control policies or
regulations.
(7) More research and high-quality data relating to gun
violence are needed to inform the development of effective
strategies to reduce the incidence of gun-related injury and
death.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of
the Office of Science and Technology Policy.
(2) Institution of higher education.--The term
``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given such
term in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1001).
(3) Program.--The term ``Program'' means the National Gun
Violence Research Program established under section 5.
SEC. 4. RESEARCH AND DATA RESTRICTIONS REPEAL.
(a) Gun Trace Data.--
(1) The matter under the heading ``Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives--Salaries and Expenses'' in
title I of division B of the Consolidated and Further
Continuing Appropriations Act, 2012 (18 U.S.C. 923 note; Public
Law 112-55; 125 Stat. 609-610) is amended by striking the 6th
proviso.
(2) The 6th proviso under the heading ``Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives--Salaries and Expenses'' in
title II of division B of the Consolidated Appropriations Act,
2010 (18 U.S.C. 923 note; Public Law 111-117; 123 Stat. 3128-
3129) is amended by striking ``beginning in fiscal year 2010
and thereafter'' and inserting ``in fiscal year 2010''.
(3) The 6th proviso under the heading ``Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives--Salaries and Expenses'' in
title II of division B of the Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009
(18 U.S.C. 923 note; Public Law 111-8; 123 Stat. 574-576) is
amended by striking ``beginning in fiscal year 2009 and
thereafter'' and inserting ``in fiscal year 2009''.
(4) The 6th proviso under the heading ``Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives--Salaries and Expenses'' in
title II of division B of the Consolidated Appropriations Act,
2008 (18 U.S.C. 923 note; Public Law 110-161; 121 Stat. 1903-
1904) is amended by striking ``beginning in fiscal year 2008
and thereafter'' and inserting ``in fiscal year 2008''.
(5) The 6th proviso under the heading ``Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives--Salaries and Expenses'' in
title I of the Science, State, Justice, Commerce, and Related
Agencies Appropriations Act, 2006 (18 U.S.C. 923 note; Public
Law 109-108; 119 Stat. 2295-2296) is amended by striking ``with
respect to any fiscal year''.
(6) The 6th proviso under the heading in title I of
division B of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005 (18
U.S.C. 923 note; Public Law 108-447; 118 Stat. 2859-2860) is
amended by striking ``with respect to any fiscal year''.
(b) Department of Health and Human Services.--Notwithstanding any
other provision of law, funds made available to the Department of
Health and Human Services, including the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health, may be used to
conduct research with respect to gun violence.
SEC. 5. RESEARCH PROGRAM.
(a) Establishment.--The President, acting through the Director,
shall develop and implement a program to improve public health and
safety through research on gun violence (to be known as the ``National
Gun Violence Research Program''), through activities carried out in
collaboration with covered agencies that--
(1) support gun violence research;
(2) accelerate the translation of gun violence research
into effective policy interventions to reduce the incidence of
injury and death related to guns;
(3) expand the number of researchers and students in the
field of gun violence research; and
(4) improve interagency planning and coordination of
Federal Government activities relating to gun violence
research.
(b) Program Activities.--A covered agency, in carrying out
activities described in subsection (a), shall--
(1) award grants to individual investigators and
interdisciplinary teams of investigators for projects related
to gun violence research;
(2) support projects funded under joint solicitations by a
collaboration of no fewer than two covered agencies;
(3) establish interdisciplinary research centers that are
organized to investigate basic research questions and inform
policy decisions relating to gun violence;
(4) provide for the education and training of undergraduate
students, graduate students, and postdoctoral scholars in gun
violence research; and
(5) promote the development of voluntary consensus gun
safety technical standards.
(c) Interagency Working Group.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the President, acting through the
National Science and Technology Council, shall establish an
interagency working group on gun violence research.
(2) Composition.--The working group established under this
subsection shall be chaired by the Director and include
representatives from--
(A) the National Science Foundation;
(B) the National Institute of Standards and
Technology;
(C) the National Institutes of Health;
(D) the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention;
(E) the National Institute of Justice; and
(F) any other Federal agency (including an agency,
department, or service thereof) that the Director
considers appropriate.
(3) Duties.--The Working Group shall--
(A) oversee the planning, management, and
coordination of the Program;
(B) provide for coordination among covered agencies
of Federal gun violence research and other activities
undertaken pursuant to the Program;
(C) establish and periodically update goals and
priorities for the Program;
(D) develop, not later than 12 months after the
date of enactment of this Act, and update every 5
years, a strategic plan to guide the activities of the
Program to meet the goals and priorities established
under subparagraph (C).
(d) Advisory Committee.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the President, acting through the
Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, shall
establish an advisory committee on gun violence research.
(2) Composition.--The advisory committee established under
paragraph (1) shall be composed of not less than 12 members,
including representatives of research institutions,
institutions of higher education, industry, law enforcement,
and relevant nonprofit organizations who are qualified to
provide advice on the Program.
(3) Duties.--The advisory committee established under
subsection (a) shall assess--
(A) the management, coordination, implementation,
and activities of the Program;
(B) the balance of activities and funding across
the Program;
(C) whether the Program priorities and goals
developed by the working group established under
subsection (c)(3) are helping to improve public health
and safety; and
(D) the need to revise the Program.
(e) Covered Agency Defined.--In this section, the term ``covered
agency'' means--
(1) the National Science Foundation;
(2) the National Institute for Standards and Technology;
(3) the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention;
(4) the National Institutes of Health;
(5) the National Institute of Justice; and
(6) such other Federal agency as determined appropriate by
the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy.
(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to the Director to carry out this section $200,000 for
each of fiscal years 2019 through 2024.
SEC. 6. AGENCY ACTIVITIES.
(a) National Science Foundation.--
(1) Research.--The Director of the National Science
Foundation shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to
institutions of higher education or nonprofit organizations (or
consortia of such institutions or organizations)--
(A) to support multidisciplinary research to better
understand the nature, causes, and consequences of
violence, including violence, suicide, unintended
injury, and death involving guns;
(B) to examine the effects of gun policy
interventions on--
(i) rates of suicide, homicide, and
unintended injury and death;
(ii) individuals' ability to use guns for
self-defense, hunting, and recreation; and
(iii) the gun industry; and
(C) to educate and train researchers in the field
of violence, including gun violence, research.
(2) National center for violence research.--The Director of
the National Science Foundation shall award grants on a
competitive basis to institutions of higher education or
nonprofit organizations (or consortia of such institutions or
organizations) to establish one or more centers to conduct
multidisciplinary research and education activities in support
of the goals and priorities of the Program (to be known as
``National Center for Violence Research'').
(3) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized
to be appropriated to carry out this subsection $15,000,000 for
each of fiscal years 2019 through 2024.
(b) National Institute of Standards and Technology.--
(1) Voluntary consensus standards.--The Secretary of
Commerce, acting through the Director of the National Institute
of Standards and Technology, shall establish a program to
promote the development of voluntary consensus gun safety
technical standards. Such effort shall include--
(A) outreach, coordination, and technical support
to relevant industry and nonindustry stakeholders and
standards development organizations to assist such
entities in the development of voluntary consensus gun
safety technical standards;
(B) the conduct of research to support efforts to
develop and improve such standards and conformity
assessment; and
(C) the development of such standard reference
material as the Director determines is necessary to
further the development of such standards.
(2) Prohibition on regulation.--Nothing in this Act shall
be construed as conferring upon the Secretary of Commerce any
authority to establish or enforce mandatory gun safety
standards.
(3) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized
to be appropriated to carry out this subsection $1,000,000 for
each of fiscal years 2019 through 2024.
(c) Department of Health and Human Services.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of Health and Human
Services, acting through the Director of the National
Institutes of Health, the Director of the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, and other scientific agencies within
the Department of Health and Human Services, shall award grants
on a competitive basis to conduct or support research into the
nature, causes, consequences, and prevention of gun violence.
(2) Appropriations.--There is authorized to be appropriated
to the Secretary of Health and Human Services to carry out this
subsection $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 through
2024.
(d) Department of Justice.--
(1) Research.--The Attorney General of the United States,
acting through the National Institute of Justice, shall conduct
or sponsor research into the nature, causes, consequences, and
prevention of gun violence.
(2) Competition.--The Attorney General of the United
States, acting through the National Institute of Justice, shall
sponsor an inducement prize competition under section 24 of the
Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C.
3719) to demonstrate through testing and evaluation the
reliability of guns and gun accessories with integrated
advanced gun safety technology (commonly referred to as smart
guns, user-authorized handguns, childproof guns, and
personalized guns).
(3) Trace data.--
(A) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General, in
collaboration with the Secretary of the Department of
Health and Human Services, shall develop consensus
protocols for granting researchers access to gun trace
data while protecting the confidentiality of gun owners
and dealers.
(B) Data sharing.--Not later than 1 year after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General,
acting through the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms, and Explosives, shall commence sharing with
researchers according to the protocols developed under
subparagraph (A), the contents of the Firearms Trace
System database and information required to be kept by
licensees pursuant to section 923(g) of title 18,
United States Code, or required to be reported pursuant
to paragraphs (3) and (7) of such section 923(g).
(4) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized
to be appropriated to carry out this subsection $3,000,000 for
each of fiscal years 2019 through 2024.
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