Washington, D.C. –Today, Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, spoke on the House floor in support of H.R. 1112, the Enhanced Background Checks Act:   

I am pleased that today we are considering H.R. 1112, the “Enhanced Background Checks Act.” 

Yesterday, the House passed H.R. 8, the “Bipartisan Background Checks Act,” an important bill to expand our national firearms background check system to include virtually all gun transfers. 

However, there are also steps we can take to make the current background check system more effective at blocking the sale of guns to individuals who are ineligible to purchase and possess them. 

That is why I support H.R. 1112, a bill that addresses a dangerous shortcoming in the current firearms background check law. 

In most cases, a licensed gun dealer receives notification within a few minutes from the National Instant Criminal Background Check System – sometimes called the NICS – that a prospective buyer has passed or failed a background check.  In a small percentage of instances, NICS examiners may require additional time to complete the background check if information is missing or unclear in a prospective buyer’s record.

However, under current law, a licensed gun dealer conducting a background check on a prospective purchaser is permitted to sell the firearm to the purchaser if there has been no determination from NICS after three business days, even though NICS has not indicated that the person has actually passed the background check.  Often, we refer to this as a “default proceed” transaction.

These are the very cases that ought to be investigated.  In 2017 alone, the ATF determined that over 4,000 “default proceed” firearms transfers went to purchasers who could not lawfully own a firearm. 

If NICS is unable to return an instant determination, and especially if there is no report after three days, there is cause for concern. 

One notable example of the tragic consequences of this loophole is the hate-crime murder of nine people at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015.  In that tragedy, the shooter was not legally allowed to possess a firearm as a result of drug charges, but he still was able to purchase his gun from a licensed dealer, who made the decision to transfer after three business days had elapsed, despite not having received a definitive response from the background check system.

The bill before us today, H.R. 1112, would strengthen the background check procedures federal firearms licensees or dealers must follow before selling or transferring a firearm.  Under H.R. 1112, the initial period a gun dealer must wait for an answer from the NICS, is extended from 3 to 10 days. 

If, after 10 days the NICS system has not returned an answer to the licensed firearms dealer, the prospective purchaser may file a petition with the Attorney General, which should help resolve most applications in short order.

If an additional 10 days elapses without a response from the NICS system, the licensed firearms dealer then may sell or transfer the firearm to the prospective purchaser, if the dealer has no reason to believe that the purchaser is prohibited from obtaining a firearm under Federal, state, or local law.  The additional time for checks to be completed will help prevent the transfer of guns to individuals who are ineligible to possess them, and will make us safer. 

I commend our colleague, Congressman Jim Clyburn, the distinguished Democratic Whip, for introducing this bipartisan bill, which is a sensible and necessary approach to addressing this dangerous shortcoming in current law.

Therefore, I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill today.   

I reserve the balance of my time. 

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