I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 6281 
To require the search and retention of certain records with respect to 
conducting criminal background checks, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 14, 2021 
Mr. PANETTA (for himself, Mr. AUCHINCLOSS, Ms. NORTON, Mr. SWALWELL, 
and Mr. THOMPSON of California) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To require the search and retention of certain records with 
respect to conducting criminal background checks, and 
for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Instant 
Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Data Integ-
rity Act of 2021’’. 
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SEC. 2. SEARCH OF NATIONAL DATA EXCHANGE. 
(a) 
RETENTION
OF
BACKGROUND
CHECK 
RECORDS.—Section 103 of the Brady Handgun Violence 
Prevention Act (34 U.S.C. 40901) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating subsections (h) through (k) 
as subsections (i) through (l), respectively; 
(2) in subsection (g), in the last sentence, by 
striking ‘‘subsection (k)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection 
(l)’’; and 
(3) by inserting after subsection (g) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(h) RECORD RETENTION.— 
‘‘(1) DEADLINE
FOR
RETENTION.—Notwith-
standing any other provision of law, the system shall 
retain records related to a transfer or potential 
transfer of a firearm to a person who is the subject 
of a call to the system pursuant to subsection (s) or 
(t) of section 922 of title 18, United States Code, 
for as long as necessary to determine whether re-
ceipt of a firearm by the person would violate sub-
section (g) or (n) of such section or State law. 
‘‘(2) NOTICE
OF
RETENTION.—If the system 
has not determined whether receipt of a firearm by 
a person would violate subsection (g) or (n) of sec-
tion 922 of title 18, United States Code, or State 
law within 30 days after a call to the system with 
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respect to the person, the system shall notify the 
person in writing (or by electronic mail if the person 
has consented to the use of electronic mail) that— 
‘‘(A) the system may retain records relat-
ing to the person and the transfer of a firearm 
until the system determines that receipt of such 
firearm by the person does not violate sub-
section (g) or (n) of section 922 of title 18, 
United States Code, or State law; and 
‘‘(B) the person may submit to the Attor-
ney General information to correct, clarify, or 
supplement records (with respect to the person) 
retained by the system in accordance with this 
section and any regulation established by the 
Attorney General.’’. 
(b) SEARCH OF NATIONAL DATA EXCHANGE.—Sec-
tion 103(e)(1) of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention 
Act (34 U.S.C. 40901(e)(1)) is amended by adding at the 
end the following: 
‘‘(L) SEARCH
OF
NATIONAL
DATA
EX-
CHANGE DATABASE.—When determining wheth-
er receipt of a firearm by a person would violate 
subsection (g) or (n) of section 922 of title 18, 
United States Code, the system established 
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under this section shall search databases con-
taining relevant information, including— 
‘‘(i) the National Data Exchange; 
‘‘(ii) 
the 
Interstate 
Identification 
Index System (as defined in article I of the 
National Crime Prevention and Privacy 
Compact, set forth in section 217 of the 
Crime Identification Technology Act of 
1998 (34 U.S.C. 40316)); 
‘‘(iii) the National Crime Information 
Center databases; 
‘‘(iv) the database created for use by 
the National Instant Criminal Background 
Check System and that contains descrip-
tive information on persons determined to 
be disqualified from possessing a firearm 
based upon State or Federal law (com-
monly known as the ‘NICS Index’); and 
‘‘(v) any other database determined 
by the Attorney General to be relevant to 
conducting a background search.’’. 
Æ 
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