I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1817 
To enforce the requirement that the National Instant Criminal Background 
Check System make a final disposition of requests to correct its records 
within 60 days, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 18, 2019 
Mr. EMMER (for himself, Mr. GOSAR, and Mr. NEWHOUSE) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To enforce the requirement that the National Instant Crimi-
nal Background Check System make a final disposition 
of requests to correct its records within 60 days, 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 ‘‘Firearm Due Process 
Protection Act’’. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
19:03 Apr 08, 2019
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1817.IH
H1817
pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
SEC. 2. ENFORCEMENT OF DEADLINE FOR FINAL DISPOSI-
TION OF REQUESTS TO CORRECT RECORDS 
OF THE NATIONAL INSTANT CRIMINAL BACK-
GROUND CHECK SYSTEM; DUE PROCESS PRO-
TECTIONS. 
Section 925A of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(1) by inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’ before 
‘‘Any person’’; 
(2) by inserting ‘‘or aggrieved by a violation of 
the penultimate sentence of section 103(g) of the 
Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act’’ after ‘‘(s) 
or (t) of section 922’’; 
(3) by striking the last sentence; and 
(4) by adding after and below the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(b) PROCEDURAL RULES.— 
‘‘(1) EXPEDITED
HEARING.—The court shall 
hold a hearing on an action brought under sub-
section (a), within 30 days after the action is 
brought. 
‘‘(2) BURDEN OF PROOF.—At such a hearing, 
the respondent shall bear the burden of proving by 
clear and convincing evidence that the individual is 
ineligible to receive or possess a firearm. 
‘‘(c) REMEDIES.— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
19:03 Apr 08, 2019
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1817.IH
H1817
pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The court shall assess 
against the respondent reasonable attorney fees and 
other litigation costs reasonably incurred in an ac-
tion brought under subsection (a) in which the com-
plainant has substantially prevailed. 
‘‘(2) SUBSTANTIALLY
PREVAILED.—For pur-
poses of this section, a complainant has substantially 
prevailed if the complainant has obtained relief 
through— 
‘‘(A) a judicial order; 
‘‘(B) an enforceable written agreement or 
consent decree; or 
‘‘(C) a voluntary or unilateral change in 
position by the United States, if the complain-
ant’s claim is not insubstantial.’’. 
SEC. 3. ANNUAL REPORTS TO THE CONGRESS ON DISPOSI-
TION OF CHALLENGES TO ACCURACY OF 
RECORDS OF THE NATIONAL INSTANT CRIMI-
NAL BACKGROUND CHECK SYSTEM. 
The Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation 
shall submit annually to the Committee on the Judiciary 
of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
the Judiciary of the Senate a written report that speci-
fies— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
19:03 Apr 08, 2019
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1817.IH
H1817
pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
(1) the total number of challenges to the accu-
racy of the records of the National Instant Criminal 
Background Check System (in this section referred 
to as the ‘‘NICS system’’) established under section 
103 of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act 
that were received by the NICS system during the 
year covered by the report; 
(2) the total number of the challenges that were 
processed to final disposition by the NICS system; 
(3) the total number of the challenges with re-
spect to which the initial determination of the NICS 
system was reversed, and with respect to those chal-
lenges, the total number in which each reason for 
the initial determination was made; 
(4) the total number of the challenges with re-
spect to which the initial determination of the NICS 
system was not reversed, and with respect to those 
challenges, the total number in which each reason 
for not doing so was made; and 
(5) the average length of time needed to com-
plete the processing of the challenges referred to in 
paragraph (2). 
SEC. 4. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of the Congress that— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
19:03 Apr 08, 2019
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1817.IH
H1817
pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
(1) the right of the people to keep and bear 
arms is a fundamental component of self-govern-
ment, self-defense, and the preservation of individual 
liberty; 
(2) deprivation of the constitutional right to 
bear arms requires due process under the Fifth and 
Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution of the 
United States; 
(3) ignoring appeals of determinations made by 
the National Instant Criminal Background Check 
System (NICS) violates due process; and 
(4) NICS should have the burden of showing a 
valid reason for the denial of this constitutional 
right. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
19:03 Apr 08, 2019
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H1817.IH
H1817
pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS