This Week in Washington

I issued the following statements regarding my votes against H.J. Res. 46 – Relating to a national emergency declared by the President, H.R. 8 – Bipartisan Background Checks Act, and H.R. 1112 – Enhanced Background Checks Act:

H.J. Res. 46
National emergency declarations are not unprecedented. Since the National Emergencies Act was signed into law in 1976, presidents have declared nearly 60 emergencies, 31 of which are still in effect today. President Trump is using his legal authority to declare a national emergency to properly address the security and humanitarian crises along the southern border. Rather than the political theater of taking up a resolution to block the president’s declaration, which I voted against, we should be working on passing legislation that will fix our broken immigration system and to secure our southern border to keep hardworking American families safe.

H.R. 8 and H.R. 1112
I am strongly committed to protecting the fundamental Second Amendment right of law-abiding American citizens to protect themselves. As such, I voted against both of the House bills which infringe on this right. These misguided bills will not prevent criminals from illegally acquiring guns or actually reduce gun violence. Instead, these bills merely criminalize the lawful possession of a gun and create excessive bureaucratic delays for the legal purchase of a gun that undermine our fundamental Second Amendment right.

If the House Democratic Majority is serious about addressing mass violence, they should join us and pass the recently introduced Mass Violence Protection Act, which I have cosponsored. This bill provides law enforcement with resources to prevent and deter mass violence and addresses the flow of guns on the black market, while preserving the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Americans. It is important that we work on legislative solutions which improve public safety and address the root causes of violence.