II

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 135

A bill to provide for the collection and dissemination of information on

injuries, death, and family dissolution due to bullet-related violence, to

require the keeping of records with respect to dispositions of ammunition,

and to increase taxes on certain bullets.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JANUARY 21, 1997

Mr. MOYNIHAN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and

referred to the Committee on Finance

A BILL

A bill to provide for the collection and dissemination of

information on injuries, death, and family dissolution

due to bullet-related violence, to require the keeping of

records with respect to dispositions of ammunition, and

to increase taxes on certain bullets.

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 ‘‘Violent Crime Control

5 Act of 1997’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress finds that—
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1 (1) there is no reliable information on the

2 amount of ammunition available;

3 (2) importers and manufacturers of ammuni4 tion are not required to keep records to report to the

5 Federal Government on ammunition imported, pro6 duced, or shipped;

7 (3) the rate of bullet-related deaths in the Unit8 ed States is unacceptably high and growing;

9 (4) three calibers of bullets are used dispropor10 tionately in crime: 9 millimeter, .25 caliber, and .32

11 caliber bullets;

12 (5) injury and death are greatest in young

13 males, and particularly young black males;

14 (6) epidemiology can be used to study bullet-re15 lated death and injury to evaluate control options;

16 (7) bullet-related death and injury has placed

17 increased stress on the American family resulting in

18 increased welfare expenditures under title IV of the

19 Social Security Act;

20 (8) bullet-related death and injury have contrib21 uted to the increase in Medicaid expenditures under

22 title XIX of the Social Security Act;

23 (9) bullet-related death and injury have contrib24 uted to increased supplemental security income ben25 efits under title XVI of the Social Security Act;
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1 (10) a tax on the sale of bullets will help con2 trol bullet-related death and injury;

3 (11) there is no central responsible agency for

4 trauma, there is relatively little funding available for

5 the study of bullet-related death and injury, and

6 there are large gaps in research programs to reduce

7 injury;

8 (12) current laws and programs relevant to the

9 loss of life and productivity from bullet-related trau10 ma are inadequate to protect the citizens of the

11 United States; and

12 (13) increased research in bullet-related vio13 lence is needed to better understand the causes of

14 such violence, to develop options for controlling such

15 violence, and to identify and overcome barriers to

16 implementing effective controls.

17 SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

18 The purposes of this Act are—

19 (1) to increase the tax on the sale of 9 millime20 ter, .25 caliber, and .32 caliber bullets (except with

21 respect to any sale to law enforcement agencies) as

22 a means of reducing the epidemic of bullet-related

23 death and injury;
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1 (2) to undertake a nationally coordinated effort

2 to survey, collect, inventory, synthesize, and dissemi3 nate adequate data and information for—

4 (A) understanding the full range of bullet5 related death and injury, including impacts on

6 the family structure and increased demands for

7 benefit payments under provisions of the Social

8 Security Act;

9 (B) assessing the rate and magnitude of

10 change in bullet-related death and injury over

11 time;

12 (C) educating the public about the extent

13 of bullet-related death and injury; and

14 (D) expanding the epidemiologic approach

15 to evaluate efforts to control bullet-related

16 death and injury and other forms of violence;

17 (3) to develop options for controlling bullet-re18 lated death and injury;

19 (4) to build the capacity and encourage respon20 sibility at the individual, group, community, State

21 and Federal levels for control and elimination of bul22 let-related death and injury; and

23 (5) to promote a better understanding of the

24 utility of the epidemiologic approach for evaluating
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1 options to control or reduce death and injury from

2 nonbullet-related violence.

3 TITLE I—BULLET DEATH AND

4 INJURY CONTROL PROGRAM

5 SEC. 101. BULLET DEATH AND INJURY CONTROL PROGRAM.

6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established within

7 the Centers for Disease Control’s National Center for In8 jury Prevention and Control (referred to as the ‘‘Center’’)

9 a Bullet Death and Injury Control Program (referred to

10 as the ‘‘Program’’).

11 (b) PURPOSE.—The Center shall conduct research

12 into and provide leadership and coordination for—

13 (1) the understanding and promotion of knowl14 edge about the epidemiologic basis for bullet-related

15 death and injury within the United States;

16 (2) developing technically sound approaches for

17 controlling, and eliminating, bullet-related deaths

18 and injuries;

19 (3) building the capacity for implementing the

20 options, and expanding the approaches to controlling

21 death and disease from bullet-related trauma; and

22 (4) educating the public about the nature and

23 extent of bullet-related violence.

24 (c) FUNCTIONS.—The functions of the Program shall

25 be—
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1 (1) to summarize and to enhance the knowledge

2 of the distribution, status, and characteristics of bul3 let-related death and injury;

4 (2) to conduct research and to prepare, with

5 the assistance of State public health departments—

6 (A) statistics on bullet-related death and

7 injury;

8 (B) studies of the epidemic nature of bul9 let-related death and injury; and

10 (C) status of the factors, including legal,

11 socioeconomic, and other factors, that bear on

12 the control of bullets and the eradication of the

13 bullet-related epidemic;

14 (3) to publish information about bullet-related

15 death and injury and guides for the practical use of

16 epidemiological information, including publications

17 that synthesize information relevant to national

18 goals of understanding the bullet-related epidemic

19 and methods for its control;

20 (4) to identify socioeconomic groups, commu21 nities, and geographic areas in need of study, de22 velop a strategic plan for research necessary to com23 prehend the extent and nature of bullet-related

24 death and injury, and determine what options exist

25 to reduce or eradicate such death and injury;
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1 (5) to provide for the conduct of epidemiologic

2 research on bullet-related death and injury through

3 grants, contracts, cooperative agreements, and other

4 means, by Federal, State, and private agencies, in5 stitutions, organizations, and individuals;

6 (6) to make recommendations to Congress, the

7 Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, and

8 other Federal, State, and local agencies on the tech9 nical management of data collection, storage, and re10 trieval necessary to collect, evaluate, analyze, and

11 disseminate information about the extent and nature

12 of the bullet-related epidemic of death and injury as

13 well as options for its control;

14 (7) to make recommendations to the Congress,

15 the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, and

16 other Federal, State and local agencies, organiza17 tions, and individuals about options for actions to

18 eradicate or reduce the epidemic of bullet-related

19 death and injury;

20 (8) to provide training and technical assistance

21 to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms

22 and other Federal, State, and local agencies regard23 ing the collection and interpretation of bullet-related

24 data; and
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1 (9) to research and explore bullet-related death

2 and injury and options for its control.

3 (d) ADVISORY BOARD.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Center shall have an

5 independent advisory board to assist in setting the

6 policies for and directing the Program.

7 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—The advisory board shall

8 consist of 13 members, including—

9 (A) 1 representative from the Centers for

10 Disease Control;

11 (B) 1 representative from the Bureau of

12 Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms;

13 (C) 1 representative from the Department

14 of Justice;

15 (D) 1 member from the Drug Enforcement

16 Agency;

17 (E) 3 epidemiologists from universities or

18 nonprofit organizations;

19 (F) 1 criminologist from a university or

20 nonprofit organization;

21 (G) 1 behavioral scientist from a university

22 or nonprofit organization;

23 (H) 1 physician from a university or non24 profit organization;
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1 (I) 1 statistician from a university or non2 profit organization;

3 (J) 1 engineer from a university or non4 profit organization; and

5 (K) 1 public communications expert from a

6 university or nonprofit organization.

7 (3) TERMS.—Members of the advisory board

8 shall serve for terms of 5 years, and may serve more

9 than 1 term.

10 (4) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.—Each mem11 ber of the Commission who is not an officer or em12 ployee of the Federal Government shall be com13 pensated at a rate equal to the daily equivalent of

14 the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level IV

15 of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title

16 5, United States Code, for each day (including travel

17 time) during which such member is engaged in the

18 performance of the duties of the Commission. All

19 members of the Commission who are officers or em20 ployees of the United States shall serve without com21 pensation in addition to that received for their serv22 ices as officers or employees of the United States.

23 (5) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—A member of the ad24 visory board that is not otherwise in the Federal

25 Government service shall, to the extent provided for
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1 in advance in appropriations Acts, be paid actual

2 travel expenses and per diem in lieu of subsistence

3 expenses in accordance with section 5703 of title 5,

4 United States Code, when the member is away from

5 the member’s usual place of residence.

6 (6) CHAIR.—The members of the advisory

7 board shall select 1 member to serve as chair.

8 (e) CONSULTATION.—The Center shall conduct the

9 Program required under this section in consultation with

10 the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms and the

11 Department of Justice.

12 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

13 are authorized to be appropriated $1,000,000 for fiscal

14 year 1998, $2,500,000 for fiscal year 1999, and

15 $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2000, 2001, and 2002

16 for the purpose of carrying out this section.

17 (g) REPORT.—The Center shall prepare an annual

18 report to Congress on the Program’s findings, the status

19 of coordination with other agencies, its progress, and prob20 lems encountered with options and recommendations for

21 their solution. The report for December 31, 1998, shall

22 contain options and recommendations for the Program’s

23 mission and funding levels for the years 1998–2002, and

24 beyond.
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1 TITLE II—INCREASE IN EXCISE

2 TAX ON CERTAIN BULLETS

3 SEC. 201. INCREASE IN TAX ON CERTAIN BULLETS.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4181 of the Internal Rev5 enue Code of 1986 (relating to the imposition of tax on

6 firearms, etc.) is amended by adding at the end the follow7 ing new flush sentence:

8 ‘‘In the case of 9 millimeter, .25 caliber, or .32 caliber

9 ammunition, the rate of tax under this section shall be

10 1,000 percent.’’

11 (b) EXEMPTION FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT PUR12 POSES.—Section 4182 of the Internal Revenue Code of

13 1986 (relating to exemptions) is amended by adding at

14 the end the following new subsection:

15 ‘‘(d) LAW ENFORCEMENT.—The last sentence of sec16 tion 4181 shall not apply to any sale (not otherwise ex17 empted) to, or for the use of, the United States (or any

18 department, agency, or instrumentality thereof) or a State

19 or political subdivision thereof (or any department, agen20 cy, or instrumentality thereof).’’

21 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

22 this section shall apply to sales after December 31, 1997.
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1 TITLE III—USE OF AMMUNITION

2 SEC. 301. RECORDS OF DISPOSITION OF AMMUNITION.

3 (a) AMENDMENT OF TITLE 18, UNITED STATES

4 CODE.—Section 923(g) of title 18, United States Code,

5 is amended—

6 (1) in paragraph (1)(A), by inserting after the

7 second sentence the following: ‘‘Each licensed im8 porter and manufacturer of ammunition shall main9 tain such records of importation, production, ship10 ment, sale, or other disposition of ammunition at the

11 licensee’s place of business for such period and in

12 such form as the Secretary, in consultation with the

13 Director of the National Center for Injury Preven14 tion and Control of the Centers for Disease Control

15 (for the purpose of ensuring that the information

16 that is collected is useful for the Bullet Death and

17 Injury Control Program), may by regulation pre18 scribe. Such records shall include the amount, cali19 ber, and type of ammunition.’’; and

20 (2) by adding at the end the following:

21 ‘‘(6) Each licensed importer or manufacturer of am22 munition shall annually prepare a summary report of im23 ports, production, shipments, sales, and other dispositions

24 during the preceding year. The report shall be prepared

25 on a form specified by the Secretary, in consultation with
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1 the Director of the National Center for Injury Prevention

2 and Control of the Centers for Disease Control (for the

3 purpose of ensuring that the information that is collected

4 is useful for the Bullet Death and Injury Control Pro5 gram), shall include the amounts, calibers, and types of

6 ammunition that were disposed of, and shall be forwarded

7 to the office specified thereon not later than the close of

8 business on the date specified by the Secretary.’’

9 (b) STUDY OF CRIMINAL USE AND REGULATION OF

10 AMMUNITION.—The Secretary of the Treasury shall re11 quest the Centers for Disease Control to—

12 (1) prepare, in consultation with the Secretary,

13 a study of the criminal use and regulation of ammu14 nition; and

15 (2) submit to Congress, not later than July 31,

16 1998, a report with recommendations on the poten17 tial for preventing crime by regulating or restricting

18 the availability of ammunition.

Æ