I 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 297 
To improve the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 5, 2007 
Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York (for herself and Mr. DINGELL) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To improve the National Instant Criminal Background Check 
System, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘NICS Improvement Act of 2007’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Findings. 
Sec. 3. Definitions. 
TITLE I—TRANSMITTAL OF RECORDS 
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Sec. 101. Enhancement of requirement that Federal departments and agencies 
provide relevant information to the National Instant Criminal 
Background Check System. 
Sec. 102. Requirements to obtain waiver. 
Sec. 103. Implementation assistance to States. 
Sec. 104. Penalties for noncompliance. 
TITLE II—FOCUSING FEDERAL ASSISTANCE ON THE 
IMPROVEMENT OF RELEVANT RECORDS 
Sec. 201. Continuing evaluations. 
TITLE III—GRANTS TO STATE COURT SYSTEMS FOR THE IM-
PROVEMENT IN AUTOMATION AND TRANSMITTAL OF DISPOSI-
TION RECORDS 
Sec. 301. Disposition records automation and transmittal improvement grants. 
TITLE IV—GAO AUDIT 
Sec. 401. GAO audit. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Approximately 916,000 individuals were 
prohibited from purchasing a firearm for failing a 
background check between November 30, 1998, (the 
date the National Instant Criminal Background 
Check System (NICS) began operating) and Decem-
ber 31, 2004. 
(2) From November 30, 1998, through Decem-
ber 31, 2004, nearly 49,000,000 Brady background 
checks were processed through NICS. 
(3) Although most Brady background checks 
are processed through NICS in seconds, many back-
ground checks are delayed if the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation (FBI) does not have automated access 
to complete information from the States concerning 
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persons prohibited from possessing or receiving a 
firearm under Federal or State law. 
(4) Nearly 21,000,000 criminal records are not 
accessible by NICS and millions of criminal records 
are missing critical data, such as arrest dispositions, 
due to data backlogs. 
(5) The primary cause of delay in NICS back-
ground checks is the lack of— 
(A) updates and available State criminal 
disposition records; and 
(B) automated access to information con-
cerning persons prohibited from possessing or 
receiving a firearm because of mental illness, 
restraining orders, or misdemeanor convictions 
for domestic violence. 
(6) Automated access to this information can 
be improved by— 
(A) computerizing information relating to 
criminal history, criminal dispositions, mental 
illness, restraining orders, and misdemeanor 
convictions for domestic violence; or 
(B) making such information available to 
NICS in a usable format. 
(7) Helping States to automate these records 
will reduce delays for law-abiding gun purchasers. 
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