I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 435 

To provide for a coordinated national research program to examine the 

nature, causes, consequences, and prevention of violence and unintended 

injury and death relating to gun ownership, use, and trafficking, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 10, 2019 

Ms. JOHNSON of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on 

Science, Space, and Technology, and Energy and Commerce, for a period 

to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 

concerned 

A BILL 

To provide for a coordinated national research program to 

examine the nature, causes, consequences, and prevention 

of violence and unintended injury and death relating 

to gun ownership, use, and trafficking, 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 ‘‘National Gun Violence 

5 Research Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress makes the following findings: 

3 (1) In the last 50 years, more individuals in the 

4 United States have died from gunshots than in all 

5 wars in which the United States was a combatant, 

6 combined. 

7 (2) The rate of gun violence deaths in the 

8 United States is more than double that of other 

9 high-income nations. 

10 (3) Guns accounted for 74 percent of homicides 

11 and 51 percent of suicides in 2016, totaling over 

12 37,000 deaths in the United States. 

13 (4) Gun violence disproportionately affects ra14 cial minorities, with African Americans comprising 

15 nearly 60 percent of homicide victims and 22 per16 cent of unintentional injury deaths in 2016. 

17 (5) Provisions in appropriations Acts dating 

18 back to 1996 have had a chilling effect on Federal 

19 funding for research on gun violence across the Fed20 eral Government and, as a result, research on gun 

21 violence is significantly underfunded relative to other 

22 leading causes of death. 

23 (6) Research examining the nature, causes, con24 sequences, and prevention of gun-related violence, 

25 suicide, and unintentional injury and death does not 


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1 constitute advocacy in support of, or opposition to, 

2 gun control policies or regulations. 

3 (7) More research and high-quality data relat4 ing to gun violence are needed to inform the develop5 ment of effective strategies to reduce the incidence 

6 of gun-related injury and death. 

7 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this Act: 

9 (1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

10 the Director of the Office of Science and Technology 

11 Policy. 

12 (2) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

13 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

14 meaning given such term in section 101 of the High15 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

16 (3) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Program’’ means 

17 the National Gun Violence Research Program estab18 lished under section 5. 

19 SEC. 4. RESEARCH AND DATA RESTRICTIONS REPEAL. 

20 (a) GUN TRACE DATA.— 

21 (1) The matter under the heading ‘‘Bureau of 

22 Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives—Sala23 ries and Expenses’’ in title I of division B of the 

24 Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropria25 tions Act, 2012 (18 U.S.C. 923 note; Public Law 


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1 112–55; 125 Stat. 609–610) is amended by striking 

2 the 6th proviso. 

3 (2) The 6th proviso under the heading ‘‘Bureau 

4 of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives—Sala5 ries and Expenses’’ in title II of division B of the 

6 Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010 (18 U.S.C. 

7 923 note; Public Law 111–117; 123 Stat. 3128– 

8 3129) is amended by striking ‘‘beginning in fiscal 

9 year 2010 and thereafter’’ and inserting ‘‘in fiscal 

10 year 2010’’. 

11 (3) The 6th proviso under the heading ‘‘Bureau 

12 of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives—Sala13 ries and Expenses’’ in title II of division B of the 

14 Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009 (18 U.S.C. 923 

15 note; Public Law 111–8; 123 Stat. 574–576) is 

16 amended by striking ‘‘beginning in fiscal year 2009 

17 and thereafter’’ and inserting ‘‘in fiscal year 2009’’. 

18 (4) The 6th proviso under the heading ‘‘Bureau 

19 of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives—Sala20 ries and Expenses’’ in title II of division B of the 

21 Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008 (18 U.S.C. 

22 923 note; Public Law 110–161; 121 Stat. 1903– 

23 1904) is amended by striking ‘‘beginning in fiscal 

24 year 2008 and thereafter’’ and inserting ‘‘in fiscal 

25 year 2008’’. 


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1 (5) The 6th proviso under the heading ‘‘Bureau 

2 of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives—Sala3 ries and Expenses’’ in title I of the Science, State, 

4 Justice, Commerce, and Related Agencies Appro5 priations Act, 2006 (18 U.S.C. 923 note; Public 

6 Law 109–108; 119 Stat. 2295–2296) is amended by 

7 striking ‘‘with respect to any fiscal year’’. 

8 (6) The 6th proviso under the heading in title 

9 I of division B of the Consolidated Appropriations 

10 Act, 2005 (18 U.S.C. 923 note; Public Law 108– 

11 447; 118 Stat. 2859–2860) is amended by striking 

12 ‘‘with respect to any fiscal year’’. 

13 (b) DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERV14 ICES.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, funds 

15 made available to the Department of Health and Human 

16 Services, including the Centers for Disease Control and 

17 Prevention and the National Institutes of Health, may be 

18 used to conduct research with respect to gun violence. 

19 SEC. 5. RESEARCH PROGRAM. 

20 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The President, acting 

21 through the Director, shall develop and implement a pro22 gram to improve public health and safety through research 

23 on gun violence (to be known as the ‘‘National Gun Vio24 lence Research Program’’), through activities carried out 

25 in collaboration with covered agencies that— 


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1 (1) support gun violence research; 

2 (2) accelerate the translation of gun violence re3 search into effective policy interventions to reduce 

4 the incidence of injury and death related to guns; 

5 (3) expand the number of researchers and stu6 dents in the field of gun violence research; and 

7 (4) improve interagency planning and coordina8 tion of Federal Government activities relating to gun 

9 violence research. 

10 (b) PROGRAM ACTIVITIES.—A covered agency, in car11 rying out activities described in subsection (a), shall— 

12 (1) award grants to individual investigators and 

13 interdisciplinary teams of investigators for projects 

14 related to gun violence research; 

15 (2) support projects funded under joint solicita16 tions by a collaboration of no fewer than two covered 

17 agencies; 

18 (3) establish interdisciplinary research centers 

19 that are organized to investigate basic research 

20 questions and inform policy decisions relating to gun 

21 violence; 

22 (4) provide for the education and training of 

23 undergraduate students, graduate students, and 

24 postdoctoral scholars in gun violence research; and 


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1 (5) promote the development of voluntary con2 sensus gun safety technical standards. 

3 (c) INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP.— 

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

5 the date of the enactment of this Act, the President, 

6 acting through the National Science and Technology 

7 Council, shall establish an interagency working 

8 group on gun violence research. 

9 (2) COMPOSITION.—The working group estab10 lished under this subsection shall be chaired by the 

11 Director and include representatives from— 

12 (A) the National Science Foundation; 

13 (B) the National Institute of Standards 

14 and Technology; 

15 (C) the National Institutes of Health; 

16 (D) the Centers for Disease Control and 

17 Prevention; 

18 (E) the National Institute of Justice; and 

19 (F) any other Federal agency (including 

20 an agency, department, or service thereof) that 

21 the Director considers appropriate. 

22 (3) DUTIES.—The Working Group shall— 

23 (A) oversee the planning, management, 

24 and coordination of the Program; 


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1 (B) provide for coordination among cov2 ered agencies of Federal gun violence research 

3 and other activities undertaken pursuant to the 

4 Program; 

5 (C) establish and periodically update goals 

6 and priorities for the Program; 

7 (D) develop, not later than 12 months 

8 after the date of enactment of this Act, and up9 date every 5 years, a strategic plan to guide the 

10 activities of the Program to meet the goals and 

11 priorities established under subparagraph (C). 

12 (d) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

14 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

15 President, acting through the Director of the Office 

16 of Science and Technology Policy, shall establish an 

17 advisory committee on gun violence research. 

18 (2) COMPOSITION.—The advisory committee es19 tablished under paragraph (1) shall be composed of 

20 not less than 12 members, including representatives 

21 of research institutions, institutions of higher edu22 cation, industry, law enforcement, and relevant non23 profit organizations who are qualified to provide ad24 vice on the Program. 


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1 (3) DUTIES.—The advisory committee estab2 lished under subsection (a) shall assess— 

3 (A) the management, coordination, imple4 mentation, and activities of the Program; 

5 (B) the balance of activities and funding 

6 across the Program; 

7 (C) whether the Program priorities and 

8 goals developed by the working group estab9 lished under subsection (c)(3) are helping to 

10 improve public health and safety; and 

11 (D) the need to revise the Program. 

12 (e) COVERED AGENCY DEFINED.—In this section, 

13 the term ‘‘covered agency’’ means— 

14 (1) the National Science Foundation; 

15 (2) the National Institute for Standards and 

16 Technology; 

17 (3) the Centers for Disease Control and Preven18 tion; 

19 (4) the National Institutes of Health; 

20 (5) the National Institute of Justice; and 

21 (6) such other Federal agency as determined 

22 appropriate by the Director of the Office of Science 

23 and Technology Policy. 

24 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

25 are authorized to be appropriated to the Director to carry 


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1 out this section $200,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 

2 through 2024. 

3 SEC. 6. AGENCY ACTIVITIES. 

4 (a) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION.— 

5 (1) RESEARCH.—The Director of the National 

6 Science Foundation shall award grants, on a com7 petitive basis, to institutions of higher education or 

8 nonprofit organizations (or consortia of such institu9 tions or organizations)— 

10 (A) to support multidisciplinary research 

11 to better understand the nature, causes, and 

12 consequences of violence, including violence, sui13 cide, unintended injury, and death involving 

14 guns; 

15 (B) to examine the effects of gun policy 

16 interventions on— 

17 (i) rates of suicide, homicide, and un18 intended injury and death; 

19 (ii) individuals’ ability to use guns for 

20 self-defense, hunting, and recreation; and 

21 (iii) the gun industry; and 

22 (C) to educate and train researchers in the 

23 field of violence, including gun violence, re24 search. 


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1 (2) NATIONAL CENTER FOR VIOLENCE RE2 SEARCH.—The Director of the National Science 

3 Foundation shall award grants on a competitive 

4 basis to institutions of higher education or nonprofit 

5 organizations (or consortia of such institutions or or6 ganizations) to establish one or more centers to con7 duct multidisciplinary research and education activi8 ties in support of the goals and priorities of the Pro9 gram (to be known as ‘‘National Center for Violence 

10 Research’’). 

11 (3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

12 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

13 this subsection $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

14 2019 through 2024. 

15 (b) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND

16 TECHNOLOGY.— 

17 (1) VOLUNTARY CONSENSUS STANDARDS.—The 

18 Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Director 

19 of the National Institute of Standards and Tech20 nology, shall establish a program to promote the de21 velopment of voluntary consensus gun safety tech22 nical standards. Such effort shall include— 

23 (A) outreach, coordination, and technical 

24 support to relevant industry and nonindustry 

25 stakeholders and standards development organiVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:30 Jan 24, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H435.IH H435

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1 zations to assist such entities in the develop2 ment of voluntary consensus gun safety tech3 nical standards; 

4 (B) the conduct of research to support ef5 forts to develop and improve such standards 

6 and conformity assessment; and 

7 (C) the development of such standard ref8 erence material as the Director determines is 

9 necessary to further the development of such 

10 standards. 

11 (2) PROHIBITION ON REGULATION.—Nothing in 

12 this Act shall be construed as conferring upon the 

13 Secretary of Commerce any authority to establish or 

14 enforce mandatory gun safety standards. 

15 (3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

16 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

17 this subsection $1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

18 2019 through 2024. 

19 (c) DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERV20 ICES.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 

22 Human Services, acting through the Director of the 

23 National Institutes of Health, the Director of the 

24 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and 

25 other scientific agencies within the Department of 


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1 Health and Human Services, shall award grants on 

2 a competitive basis to conduct or support research 

3 into the nature, causes, consequences, and preven4 tion of gun violence. 

5 (2) APPROPRIATIONS.—There is authorized to 

6 be appropriated to the Secretary of Health and 

7 Human Services to carry out this subsection 

8 $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 

9 2024. 

10 (d) DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE.— 

11 (1) RESEARCH.—The Attorney General of the 

12 United States, acting through the National Institute 

13 of Justice, shall conduct or sponsor research into the 

14 nature, causes, consequences, and prevention of gun 

15 violence. 

16 (2) COMPETITION.—The Attorney General of 

17 the United States, acting through the National In18 stitute of Justice, shall sponsor an inducement prize 

19 competition under section 24 of the Stevenson20 Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 

21 U.S.C. 3719) to demonstrate through testing and 

22 evaluation the reliability of guns and gun accessories 

23 with integrated advanced gun safety technology 

24 (commonly referred to as smart guns, user-authorVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:30 Jan 24, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H435.IH H435

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1 ized handguns, childproof guns, and personalized 

2 guns). 

3 (3) TRACE DATA.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 

5 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 

6 the Attorney General, in collaboration with the 

7 Secretary of the Department of Health and 

8 Human Services, shall develop consensus proto9 cols for granting researchers access to gun 

10 trace data while protecting the confidentiality of 

11 gun owners and dealers. 

12 (B) DATA SHARING.—Not later than 1 

13 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

14 Attorney General, acting through the Bureau of 

15 Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, 

16 shall commence sharing with researchers ac17 cording to the protocols developed under sub18 paragraph (A), the contents of the Firearms 

19 Trace System database and information re20 quired to be kept by licensees pursuant to sec21 tion 923(g) of title 18, United States Code, or 

22 required to be reported pursuant to paragraphs 

23 (3) and (7) of such section 923(g). 

24 (4) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

25 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 


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1 this subsection $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

2 2019 through 2024. 

Æ 


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