March 24, 2000

The President William Jefferson Clinton

The White House

Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President:

I am writing to make you aware of the findings of a recently released
General Accounting Office report on the implementation of the National
Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). As I noted in my letter
of January 20, 2000, we should make improvements to the Instant Check
system a national priority. The GAO reported its findings on February
29^th^ and the conclusions are clear: there are additional steps we can
take to make the instant check more effective. In doing so, we can
prevent firearms from falling into the wrong hands and protect the
rights of law-abiding citizens who choose to exercise their Second
Amendment rights.

As you have repeatedly stated, NICS has stopped almost 200,000
prohibited individuals from obtaining firearms. This is an achievement
of which we can all be proud. NICS is one of our most valuable law
enforcement tools to prohibit disqualified persons from purchasing a
firearm and I am committed to strengthening the Instant Check system.

However, despite these successes, the GAO audit highlighted several
areas where the NICS database is deficient. For example, the report
indicated that in many instances, background checks are delayed because
\"arrest disposition information (such as whether the arrest resulted in
a conviction) is not fully automated in all states.\" Because of this
particular deficiency, negative consequences occur -- prohibited persons
obtain firearms and law-abiding citizens are unnecessarily delayed and
denied access to firearms.

I was very pleased that your budget identified this problem and
allocated \$70 million for grants to upgrade criminal records. However,
grants alone are not enough. The GAO report concluded that increased
state participation in the Interstate Identification Index (triple eye),
the nationwide database of criminal history records, is essential. Full
state participation will ensure that the most accurate and complete
criminal records are available for instant criminal background checks.
Currently, states are not required to report arrest disposition records
on a timely basis. Certainly, we might consider conditioning the receipt
of federal funds upon the expeditious reporting of disposition
information.

In my home state of Michigan, a recent Auditor General's report showed
identical problems at the state and local level. Large numbers of people
with mental health problems in Michigan are able to obtain firearms
because court records are not reported to the automated network used by
police to make background checks on a timely basis, if they are reported
at all. I suspect that Michigan is not alone, and that this is
indicative of a nationwide problem of which the GAO report has only
scratched the surface. Mr. President, again, I urge you to ask the
Department of Justice for a thorough nationwide review of the
deficiencies of the NICS and to work with the Congress, the states and
local jurisdictions to improve its operation and effectiveness as soon
as possible.

In addition to detailing areas where the NICS system can be improved,
the GAO audit also revealed some disturbing information on the
government's efforts to investigate and/or prosecute those prohibited
individuals who had illegally obtained a firearm. GAO stated that during
NICS' first 13 months of operation, 3,353 prohibited persons had
obtained firearms. However, criminal investigations were active on only
110, or three percent, of those cases. This is simply intolerable. When
persons break federal firearm laws, they should be immediately sought
out and sanctioned according to existing law.

The GAO audit also showed that while 31,292 prospective purchasers were
denied by the NICS system, almost half of those cases were closed
without prosecution or even investigation. As you are aware, an
attempted purchase by a prohibited person is itself a felony. In my
judgement, you should insist that U.S. Attorneys' offices take a harder
line on gun criminals and prosecute violators to the fullest extent of
the law. Your January 18^th^ announcement to better enforce existing
federal firearms laws was a welcome one. GAO has identified this as an
area of existing law where it appears the government's prosecutorial
efforts have been substandard. I encourage you to examine this in more
detail and direct the Department of Justice to prosecute those cases
vigorously.

Mr. President, you've called for some common sense solutions. GAO's
report provided us with some common sense answers. By making the
necessary investments in the NICS system and by prosecuting those who
break the law, your administration can make a real difference and make
our communities a safer place.

Thank you for your cooperation and attention to this matter. I look
forward to receiving your thoughts on the above issues and on those that
I raised in my letter of January 20^th^.

With every good wish,

Sincerely,

John D. Dingell

Member of Congress