Let me be clear: Buying a firearm is not extremism; buying a Bible is
not extremism; reading the news you choose and want to read is not
extremism; exercising a constitutional right is not extremism.
  The extreme position is using America's banks to build a permanent
list to track who people worship, what they read, and what
constitutional rights they happen to choose to exercise.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote for privacy, freedom, and
the Constitution of the United States of America.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield one minute to the gentleman from
Florida (Mr. Frost).
  Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I think it is important to say because we
hear over and over from our colleagues about the Constitution: If using
merchant category codes violated the Fourth Amendment, where is your
bill on amending this for every purchase at a pharmacy, liquor store,
or casino?
  This is a standard accounting tool that is used by banks. This
argument, unless you are going to follow it up with legislation to
essentially make it illegal to track and have the same codes, which is
just a four-digit number, for pharmacies, casinos, liquor, and other
things as well, the argument falls flat. Law enforcement needs to go
through a legal process to access the financial records here.
  Mr. Speaker, it is not a good argument. We are talking about
something that doesn't track what you are buying. It doesn't track the
guns you are buying. It won't tell them that, but it is just a general
tool to help us stop some of the worst of the worst mass shootings.
  Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the
gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Lee).
  Ms. LEE of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R.
1181, the Protecting Privacy in Purchases Act.
  The Second Amendment is a constitutional right. Americans should not
have their lawful purchases singled out simply because they choose to
exercise that right.
  This bill stops efforts to create a special system for identifying
and organizing purchases made at firearm and ammunition retailers.

                              {time}  1550

  While its proponents present this as simply an administrative tool,
in practice it raises serious concerns about privacy and the unjust
treatment of lawful conduct.
  Americans are increasingly concerned about how much information is
collected, stored, and shared. Those concerns are especially valid when
it comes to information being tracked that relates to the exercise of a
constitutional freedom. Here is the reality: Tracking the lawful
purchase of firearms and ammunition creates a framework for collecting
information about law-abiding citizens who have done nothing wrong.
  My home State of Florida already prohibits this type of surveillance.
Floridians understand something that most Americans agree with: Your
bank should process your transaction, not track your activities.
  This bill prevents payment networks and financial institutions from
requiring special codes for firearms retailers, while preserving
existing tools used to combat fraud, protect consumers, maintain
cybersecurity, and report suspicious activity.
  At its core, this legislation is about privacy, fairness, and the
principle that the exercise of constitutional rights should never
become the basis for surveillance.
  I thank the chairman and the bill's sponsor for their work on this
important issue. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1181.
  Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  As I conclude, I will point out that when our committee held a
hearing last year, none of the majority's witnesses said a single
positive thing about this bill in their testimony. That is probably
because there is nothing positive to say about this harmful bill.
  Now, using merchant category codes for firearm retailers won't solve
this problem, not even close. The codes themselves don't identify what
is purchased, but it might have triggered a flag for unusual and
suspicious purchases that get reported to law enforcement. Mr. Speaker,
that might save 1 life or 10 lives or 100 lives or 1,000 lives or
10,000 lives. Even if it is a fraction of the 416,000 who have died
from gun violence over the past decade, wouldn't it be worth it?
  Mr. Speaker, the audacity of the opposite side of the aisle to tell
States they cannot use these merchant codes, any State in the United
States of America, even those who started in some way using these
codes, they are now saying they want a law that would preempt your
State from being able to use the merchant codes.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my
time.
  I thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for this debate. I
thank Mr. Moore for writing this bill, drafting it, persuading the
support that he has. I urge all Members on both sides of the aisle to
support this bill in the name of privacy in the United States.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. All time for debate has expired.
  Pursuant to House Resolution 1423, the previous question is ordered
on the bill, as amended.
  The question is on the engrossment and third reading of the bill.
  The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, and was
read the third time.

                           Motion to Recommit

  Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the motion to
recommit.
  The Clerk read as follows:
       Mr. Frost of FL moves to recommit the bill H.R. 1181 to the
     Committee on Financial Services.

  The material previously referred to by Mr. Frost is as follows:

       Mr. Frost moves to recommit the bill H.R. 1181 to the
     Committee on Financial Services with instructions to report
     the same back to the House forthwith with the following
     amendment:

       Add at the end the following: