Federal Information Systems Safeguards Act of 2016

Floor Speech

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Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

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Mr. THOMPSON of California. I am, in its current form.

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Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mr. Speaker, this is the final amendment to the bill. It will not kill the bill or send it back to committee. If adopted, the bill will immediately proceed to final passage, as amended.

My motion to recommit would incorporate into the underlying legislation H.R. 1076, a bipartisan measure of no fly, no buy, and H.R. 1217, another bipartisan bill to strengthen our background check system for gun sales.

These bills are common sense. They are bipartisan. They respect the Second Amendment. I am a gun owner. If these bills did anything to violate those rights, my name wouldn't be on them. Most importantly, they would help keep guns away from those who shouldn't have them: terrorists, criminals, domestic abusers, and the dangerously mentally ill.

H.R. 1076 was introduced by our Republican colleague Peter King. This bill says that if you are on the FBI's terrorist no-fly list then you don't get to walk into a gun store, pass a background check, and leave with a gun or guns of your choosing. If there is one thing both sides of the aisle should be able to agree on it is keeping guns from suspected terrorists, and 181 Members of this House have signed the petition to force an up-or-down vote on the bill.

Mr. Speaker, give us a vote on this legislation.

The second bill, H.R. 1217, is a bipartisan, pro-Second Amendment bill that would close dangerous loopholes in our background check system that allow criminals, domestic abusers, and the dangerously mentally ill to bypass a background check and purchase guns online, at gun shows, or through classified ads. The bill has 186 bipartisan coauthors.

Mr. Speaker, give us a vote on this legislation.

These are the bills the American people want to see enacted into law as 85 percent of Americans favor banning individuals on the no-fly list from being able to buy a gun, and 90 percent of Americans support strengthening and expanding our background check system.

We have been calling for a vote on this bipartisan legislation to reduce gun violence for 3\1/2\ years. It was that long ago that 20 elementary school kids and six educators were shot to death at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

For reasons that I will never understand, that horrific tragedy was not enough to convince the Republican leadership that something needed to be done to prevent the next tragedy. Sadly, in the 3\1/2\ years that the Republicans have refused to vote on legislation to keep guns out of dangerous hands, our country has lost far too many innocent lives to gun violence.

Let me give you some numbers: 3\1/2\, the number of years it has been since Sandy Hook; 34,000, the number of people killed by someone with a gun since Sandy Hook; 1,182, the number of mass shootings since Sandy Hook; 30, the number of moments of silence since Sandy Hook; 521, the number of legislative days since Sandy Hook; most importantly, the number zero. That is the number of votes we have taken in this House to keep guns out of dangerous hands. That is shameful.

Congress has a responsibility to take action to keep our communities safe from gun violence. With this motion, our Republican colleagues have an opportunity right here, right now, to vote on these bills. We are here to represent and to fight for the people we have the privilege to serve.

The overwhelming majority of American people wants to see their elected representatives take action to help keep guns away from those who shouldn't have them: terrorists, criminals, domestic abusers, and the dangerously mentally ill. This debate isn't a choice between respecting the Second Amendment or reducing gun violence. It is about Congress doing both.

Mr. Speaker, it is long past time for the Republican leadership to give us a vote on this pro-Second Amendment, pro-gun safety legislation. We can't allow mass gun violence, followed by moments of silence and no action, to become America's new normal. We can't wait for more innocent lives to be cut short by someone who has used a gun. We need to pass this motion and help spare families the pain of losing a loved one to gun violence. Give us a vote. Pass this bill.

I yield back the balance of my time. Point of Order

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Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mr. Speaker, I appeal the ruling of the Chair.

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Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

A recorded vote was ordered.

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