I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1642 

To direct the Attorney General to prioritize the investigation and prosecution 

of Federal firearms offenses, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 8, 2021 

Ms. MALLIOTAKIS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To direct the Attorney General to prioritize the investigation 

and prosecution of Federal firearms offenses, and for 

other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Prosecuting Gun 

5 Crimes Saves Lives Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds as follows: 

8 (1) Promoting public safety, addressing gun9 based homicides, and enforcing Federal firearms 


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1 laws are among the highest priorities of the Con2 gress. 

3 (2) Point-of-sale background checks can reduce 

4 the risk of gun-based homicides by preventing crimi5 nals and prohibited persons from purchasing fire6 arms while protecting access for law-abiding citizens. 

7 (3) Under the Gun Control Act of 1968, cat8 egories of persons who may pose a threat to public 

9 safety, including violent felons, fugitives from jus10 tice, and persons convicted of domestic violence 

11 crimes, are prohibited from shipping, transporting, 

12 receiving, or possessing firearms or ammunition. 

13 (4) Thousands of prohibited persons illegally at14 tempt to purchase firearms every year. In 2017, the 

15 FBI’s NICS Section referred 112,090 denied trans16 actions to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms 

17 and Explosives (ATF). Of these NICS denials, only 

18 12, or 0.09 percent, were prosecuted in 2017. 

19 (5) On March 12, 2018, former Attorney Gen20 eral Jeff Sessions issued a memo directing Depart21 ment of Justice prosecutors to prioritize ‘‘vigorous 

22 and appropriate’’ prosecution of cases involving false 

23 statements on Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Ex24 plosives Form 4473. The memo stated that ‘‘Crimi25 nals and other prohibited persons who attempt to 


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1 thwart the background check process by lying on the 

2 required forms threaten to undermine this important 

3 crime prevention tool’’ and that ‘‘we must vigilantly 

4 protect the integrity of the background system 

5 through appropriate prosecution of those who at6 tempt to circumvent the law’’. The Department of 

7 Justice’s efforts to reclaim the integrity of the back8 ground check system yielded a 23-percent increase 

9 in the number of defendants charged with unlawful 

10 possession of a firearm in the 3 months following 

11 issuance of the memo. 

12 (6) On November 13, 2019, Attorney General 

13 William Barr announced the launch of a new initia14 tive, Project Guardian, to reduce gun-based homi15 cides by investigating, prosecuting, and preventing 

16 firearm crimes. Project Guardian will address gun17 based homicides by encouraging coordinated pros18 ecution efforts, enforcement of the background check 

19 system, improved information-sharing, response to 

20 mental health denials, and crime gun intelligence co21 ordination. 

22 (7) Congress must ensure Federal, State, and 

23 local entities tasked with preventing prohibited indi24 viduals from purchasing firearms, recovering fire25 arms from prohibited individuals, and investigating 


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1 and prosecuting lying and buying and lying and try2 ing cases have sufficient information and resources 

3 to carry out their missions and promote public safe4 ty. 

5 (8) Congress urges the Attorney General to 

6 prioritize the investigation and prosecution of Fed7 eral firearm offenses to protect Americans and pre8 vent and deter the illegal purchase and possession of 

9 firearms. 

10 SEC. 3. INFORMATION-SHARING WITH STATE FUSION CEN11 TERS. 

12 Not later than 60 days after the date of the enact13 ment of this Act, the Attorney General may direct the Bu14 reau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to reg15 ularly provide to State and local law enforcement agencies, 

16 including through State law enforcement fusion centers 

17 (as defined in section 210A(j)(1) of the Homeland Secu18 rity Act of 2002) a report listing individuals for whom 

19 the National Instant Criminal Background Check System 

20 has issued firearm transfer denials, including the basis for 

21 the denial, with the purpose of equipping law enforcement 

22 with the information they need to prevent persons from 

23 illegally purchasing, receiving, or possessing firearms. 


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1 SEC. 4. POINT OF CONTACT AND PARTIAL POINT OF CON2 TACT STATE GRANTS TO INCREASE INVES3 TIGATIONS AND PROSECUTIONS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

5 date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, 

6 the Attorney General may make grants to eligible States 

7 to investigate firearm transfer denials and increase inves8 tigations and prosecutions of persons who illegally pur9 chase, possess, or receive a firearm, or illegally attempt 

10 to purchase, possess, or receive a firearm. 

11 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—An eligible State is any State that 

12 is a point of contact State or partial point of contact State 

13 for the national instant criminal background check sys14 tem. 

15 (c) APPLICATION.—To receive a grant under this sec16 tion, a State shall submit to the Attorney General an ap17 plication at such time, in such manner, and containing 

18 such information as the Attorney General may reasonably 

19 require. 

20 (d) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec21 tion, the Attorney General may give priority to each eligi22 ble State that— 

23 (1) establishes a task force that includes enti24 ties such as State and local law enforcement agen25 cies, State and local prosecutors, agencies con26 ducting background checks, and representatives 


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1 from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and 

2 Explosives; and 

3 (2) certifies to the Attorney General that the 

4 State is committed to investigating and prosecuting 

5 persons who illegally purchase, possess, or receive 

6 firearms or illegally attempt to purchase, possess, or 

7 receive firearms. 

8 (e) USE OF FUNDS.—A State that receives a grant 

9 under this section shall use grant funds to coordinate and 

10 execute investigations and prosecutions of persons who il11 legally purchase, possess, or receive a firearm, or illegally 

12 attempt such purchase, possession, or receipt, including 

13 the illegal purchase or possession of a firearm based on 

14 a prior felony or any relevant misdemeanor convictions. 

15 (f) EVALUATION.—Each State that receives a grant 

16 under this section shall submit to the Attorney General, 

17 not later than 1 year after receipt of such grant, an eval18 uation in such form and containing such information as 

19 the Attorney General may reasonably require. 

20 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF FUNDING.—There is author21 ized to be appropriated to carry out this section not more 

22 than $7,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 

23 2026. 


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1 SEC. 5. INCREASING FEDERAL PROSECUTION OF GUN VIO2 LENCE. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

4 date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney General 

5 shall establish in each jurisdiction described in subsection 

6 (c) a program that meets the requirements of subsection 

7 (b), which shall be known as the ‘‘Prosecute Gun Crimes 

8 Program’’. 

9 (b) PROGRAM ELEMENTS.—Each program estab10 lished under subsection (a) shall, for the jurisdiction con11 cerned— 

12 (1) require that the United States attorney des13 ignate not less than 1 assistant United States attor14 neys to prosecute violations of Federal firearms 

15 laws; 

16 (2) provide for coordination with State and 

17 local law enforcement officials in the identification of 

18 violations of Federal firearms laws; 

19 (3) provide for the establishment of agreements 

20 with State and local law enforcement officials for the 

21 referral to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms 

22 and Explosives and the United States attorney for 

23 the district in which the jurisdiction is located for 

24 prosecution of persons arrested for violations of sec25 tion 922 or 924 of title 18, United States Code, or 


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1 section 5861 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 

2 relating to firearms; 

3 (4) ensure that each person so referred be 

4 charged with a violation of the most serious Federal 

5 firearm offense consistent with the act committed, 

6 while preserving prosecutorial discretion; 

7 (5) provide for the hiring of agents for the Bu8 reau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives 

9 to investigate violations of the provisions of law 

10 specified in paragraph (3); and 

11 (6) provide for the establishment of multijuris12 dictional task forces, coordinated by the Executive 

13 Office of the United States attorneys, to investigate 

14 and prosecute illegal straw purchasing rings that 

15 purchase firearms in one jurisdiction and transfer 

16 them in another. 

17 (c) COVERED JURISDICTIONS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

19 the jurisdictions described in this subsection are— 

20 (A) the 15 cities or jurisdictions within the 

21 50 States with a population equal to or greater 

22 than 100,000 persons that had the highest per 

23 capita rate of gun-based homicides according to 

24 the uniform crime report of the Federal Bureau 


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1 of Investigation for the most recent year avail2 able; and 

3 (B) the 3 tribal jurisdictions that have the 

4 highest gun-based homicide crime rates, as de5 termined by the Attorney General. 

6 (d) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year after 

7 the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually there8 after, the Attorney General shall submit to the Committee 

9 on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the 

10 Judiciary of the House of Representatives a report con11 taining the following information: 

12 (1) The number of individuals indicted for such 

13 violations of Federal firearms laws during that year. 

14 (2) The increase or decrease in the number of 

15 individuals indicted for such violations of Federal 

16 firearms laws during that year under a program es17 tablished under this section when compared with the 

18 year preceding that year. 

19 (3) To the extent the information is available, 

20 the average length of the sentences of imprisonment 

21 of the individuals convicted of violations of Federal 

22 firearms laws under such a program. 

23 (4) The number of multijurisdictional task 

24 forces established and the number of individuals ar25 rested, indicted, convicted or acquitted of charges for 


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1 violations of the crimes specified in subsection 

2 (b)(3). 

3 (e) LIMITATIONS ON AUTHORIZATION OF APPRO4 PRIATIONS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—For the salaries and ex6 penses of assistant United States attorneys and Bu7 reau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives 

8 agents participating in the program established 

9 under this section, there are authorized to be appro10 priated $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022, 

11 2023, and 2024. 

12 (2) USE OF FUNDS.— 

13 (A) ASSISTANT UNITED STATES ATTOR14 NEYS.—The assistant United States attorneys 

15 hired using amounts made available under 

16 paragraph (1) of this subsection shall prosecute 

17 violations of Federal firearms laws specified in 

18 subsection (b)(3). 

19 (B) ATF AGENTS.—The Bureau of Alco20 hol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents 

21 hired using amounts made available under 

22 paragraph (1) of this subsection shall, to the 

23 maximum extent practicable, concentrate their 

24 investigations on violations of Federal firearms 

25 laws specified in subsection (b)(3). 


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1 SEC. 6. PROSECUTION OF FELONS WHO ATTEMPT TO ILLE2 GALLY PURCHASE FIREARMS. 

3 (a) TASK FORCE.— 

4 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in 

5 the Department of Justice a task force, which shall 

6 be known as the Felon Firearm Task Force (re7 ferred to in this section as the ‘‘Task Force’’), to 

8 strengthen the efforts of the Department of Justice 

9 to investigate and prosecute cases of convicted felons 

10 who illegally attempt to purchase a firearm. 

11 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—The members of the Task 

12 Force shall be— 

13 (A) the Deputy Attorney General, who 

14 shall serve as the Chairperson of the Task 

15 Force; 

16 (B) the Assistant Attorney General for the 

17 Criminal Division; 

18 (C) the Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, 

19 Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; 

20 (D) the Director of the Federal Bureau of 

21 Investigation; and 

22 (E) such other officers or employees of the 

23 Department of Justice as the Attorney General 

24 may designate. 

25 (3) DUTIES.—The Task Force shall provide— 


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1 (A) direction for the investigation and 

2 prosecution of cases of convicted felons at3 tempting to illegally purchase a firearm; and 

4 (B) recommendations to the Attorney Gen5 eral relating to— 

6 (i) the allocation and reallocation of 

7 resources of the Department of Justice for 

8 investigation and prosecution of such 

9 cases; 

10 (ii) enhancing cooperation among enti11 ties of the Federal Government in the in12 vestigation and prosecution of such cases; 

13 (iii) enhancing cooperation among 

14 Federal, State, and local authorities re15 sponsible for the investigation and prosecu16 tion of such cases; and 

17 (iv) changes in rules, regulations, or 

18 policy to improve the effective investigation 

19 and prosecution of such cases. 

20 (4) MEETINGS.—The Task Force shall meet 

21 not less than once each year. 

22 (5) TERMINATION.—The Task Force shall ter23 minate on the date that is 5 years after the date of 

24 the enactment of this Act. 


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1 (b) AUTHORIZATION FOR USE OF FUNDS.—Section 

2 524(c)(1) of title 28, United States Code, is amended— 

3 (1) in subparagraph (H), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

4 the end; 

5 (2) in subparagraph (I), by striking the period 

6 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

7 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (I) the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(J) the investigation and prosecution of 

10 cases of convicted felons who illegally attempt 

11 to purchase a firearm, in accordance with sec12 tion 6(a) of the Prosecuting Gun Crimes Saves 

13 Lives Act, except that— 

14 ‘‘(i) not more than $5,000,000 shall 

15 be available to the Attorney General for 

16 each of fiscal years 2022 through 2025 

17 under this subparagraph; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) not more than 5 percent of the 

19 amounts made available under this sub20 paragraph may be used for the administra21 tive costs of the task force established 

22 under such section.’’. 


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1 SEC. 7. REPORT TO CONGRESS ON FIREARMS PROSECU2 TIONS. 

3 (a) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Beginning February 1, 

4 2022, and on February 1 of each year thereafter through 

5 2030, the Attorney General shall submit to the Commit6 tees on the Judiciary and on Appropriations of the Senate 

7 and of the House of Representatives a report containing 

8 the information furnished under subsection (b) during the 

9 fiscal year that ended on September 30 of the preceding 

10 year. 

11 (b) SUBJECT OF ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 

12 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

13 Attorney General shall require each component of the De14 partment of Justice, including each Office of the United 

15 States Attorney, to furnish for the purposes of the report 

16 required by subsection (a) information relating to any case 

17 presented to the Department of Justice for review or pros18 ecution, in which the objective facts of the case provide 

19 probable cause to believe that there has been a violation 

20 of section 922 or 924 of title 18, United States Code, or 

21 section 5861 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

22 (c) ELEMENTS OF ANNUAL REPORT.—With respect 

23 to each case described in subsection (b), the report sub24 mitted under subsection (a) shall include information indi25 cating— 


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1 (1) whether in any such case, a decision has 

2 been made not to charge an individual with a viola3 tion of the relevant provision of law or any other 

4 provision of Federal criminal law; 

5 (2) in any case described in paragraph (1), a 

6 description of why no charge was filed under the rel7 evant provision of law; 

8 (3) whether, in any case described in subsection 

9 (b), an indictment, information, or other charge has 

10 been brought against any person, or the matter is 

11 pending; 

12 (4) whether, in the case of an indictment, infor13 mation, or other charge referred to in paragraph (3), 

14 the charging document contains a count or counts 

15 alleging a violation of the relevant provision of law; 

16 (5) in any case described in paragraph (4) in 

17 which the charging document contains a count or 

18 counts alleging a violation of the relevant provision 

19 of law, whether a plea agreement of any kind has 

20 been entered into with the charged individual; 

21 (6) whether any plea agreement described in 

22 paragraph (5) required the individual to plead guilty 

23 or enter a plea of nolo contendere, or otherwise 

24 caused a court to enter a conviction against the indi25 vidual for a violation of the relevant provision of law; 


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1 (7) in any case described in paragraph (6) in 

2 which the plea agreement did not require the indi3 vidual to plead guilty or enter a plea of nolo 

4 contendere, or otherwise cause a court to enter a 

5 conviction against that individual for a violation of 

6 the relevant provision of law, the charges to which 

7 the individual pled guilty; 

8 (8) in the case of an indictment, information, or 

9 other charge described in paragraph (3), in which 

10 the charging document contains a count alleging a 

11 violation of the relevant provision of law, the result 

12 of any trial of the charges; 

13 (9) in the case of an indictment, information, or 

14 other charge described in paragraph (3), in which 

15 the charging document did not contain a count or 

16 counts alleging a violation of the relevant provision 

17 of law, the nature of the other charges brought and 

18 the result of any trial of such other charges brought; 

19 (10) the number of persons who attempted to 

20 purchase a firearm but were denied a firearm be21 cause of a background check conducted in accord22 ance with section 922(t) of title 18, United States 

23 Code; and 


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1 (11) the number of prosecutions conducted in 

2 relation to persons described in paragraph (10). 

Æ 


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