Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

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Mr. PADILLA. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Age 21 Act, a vital piece of legislation aimed at reducing gun violence and enhancing the safety of all Americans.

The Age 21 Act would prohibit the sale of assault weapons, large- capacity ammunition, and related items to individuals under the age of 21.

However, this bill includes reasonable exceptions to allow temporary transfer or possession of assault weapons for specific activities, such as recreational use or work-related responsibilities, including Active military service.

Every American has the right to live free from the fear of gun violence. Yet this epidemic continues to devastate our communities, claiming over 46,000 lives in 2023 alone, the third-highest number of gun-related deaths ever recorded. This ongoing crisis demands urgent and meaningful action.

Assault weapons--engineered for military purposes--are designed to inflict maximum damage in the shortest amount of time. Unsurprisingly, they are frequently chosen by those who perpetrate mass violence. Their deadly impact is tragically evident in many of our Nation's darkest moments.

In 2022, an 18-year-old gunman in Uvalde, TX, used an AR-15-style rifle to kill 19 children and 2 teachers at Robb Elementary School. In 2018, a 19-year-old gunman at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL, murdered 17 students and staff members with an AR-15 rifle. And in 2012, a 20-year-old gunman used an AR-15-style rifle to kill 20 children and 6 educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT.

These are not isolated incidents but part of devastating pattern. Data shows that more than 85 percent of fatalities in public mass shootings involving four or more deaths are caused by assault rifles. The evidence is clear: These weapons amplify the scale of violence and loss of life.

Scientific research supports raising the minimum age for accessing such destructive weapons. Studies show that the human brain continues to develop into a person's mid-20s, particularly in areas related to impulse control, judgment, and long-term planning. Recognizing this, Federal law already restricts the purchase of alcohol and tobacco to individuals over 21, commonsense measures to protect public safety. Assault weapons, with their unparalleled potential for destruction, deserve no less consideration.

Americans deserve to feel safe in their schools, places of worship, and neighborhoods. By passing the Age 21 Act, we can take a meaningful step to reduce the availability of these deadly weapons to young individuals, helping to save lives and prevent future tragedies.

Public safety is a shared responsibility, and this bill represents an important measure to strengthen our collective efforts to combat gun violence. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation and working to pass the Age 21 Act as swiftly as possible. ______

By Mr. PADILLA (for himself, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Moran, and Mr. Lankford):

S. 602. A bill to amend the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 to support research and development of ungulate grazing land management techniques for purposes of wildfire mitigation, fuel reduction, and post-fire recovery; to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

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Mr. PADILLA. Mr. President, I rise to introduce the bipartisan Wildfire Resilience Through Grazing Research Act. This legislation aims to advance research into the use of hooved animal grazing as a tool for wildfire prevention, mitigation, and recovery.

Wildfires in the U.S. are becoming more frequent, intense, and destructive, posing significant threats to lives, ecosystems, and property. The economic and ecological costs of these fires are devastating. To mitigate future risks and support postfire recovery, we must adopt effective land management strategies. One promising and natural method is ungulate grazing, which has proven effective in reducing the fuel loads that exacerbate fire spread.

However, we still lack sufficient scientific understanding of how to optimize grazing practices for wildfire mitigation while avoiding potential environmental harms. Supporting this research will allow the Federal Government, as well as private landowners, to make grazing a core, cost-effective tool in wildfire prevention, working alongside other mitigation strategies to protect our landscapes, our communities, and our way of life.

Our bipartisan bill would add the Grazing for Wildfire Mitigation Initiative to the National Institute of Food and Agriculture's (NIFA) High-Priority Research List. Specifically, this initiative would support research and development of ungulate grazing land management techniques that promote wildfire mitigation, fuels reduction, and postfire recovery. In addition, it would support information dissemination of ungulate grazing land management techniques that support wildfire mitigation to public and private landowners, land managers, and livestock owners.

I would like to thank my colleagues Senators Moran, Hirono, and Lankford for their leadership in introducing this bipartisan legislation with me. I urge my colleagues to support the Wildfire Resilience Through Grazing Research Act, and I look forward to working together to ensure our communities are better prepared to face the challenges posed by increasingly frequent and severe wildfires. ______

By Mr. KAINE (for himself and Mr. Warner):

S. 603. A bill to designate the General George C. Marshall House in the Commonwealth of Virginia, as an affiliated area of the National Park System, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

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