Title: Tiahrt Restrictions Repeal Act
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
Tiahrt Restrictions Repeal Act
This bill amends several appropriations laws to remove limitations on the authority of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to conduct activities related to the administration of federal firearms laws.
Specifically, the bill removes provisions that

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3299 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3299

  To repeal certain impediments to the administration of the firearms 
                                 laws.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 13, 2020

Mr. Menendez (for himself, Mr. Markey, Mr. Blumenthal, Ms. Harris, Mrs. 
Gillibrand, Mr. Booker, and Mr. Durbin) introduced the following bill; 
  which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To repeal certain impediments to the administration of the firearms 
                                 laws.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Tiahrt Restrictions Repeal Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) The Tiahrt Amendments severely limit the authority of 
        the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) 
        to disclose crime gun trace data to the public.
            (2) The Tiahrt Amendments prevent the collection of 
        valuable information, and the establishment of effective 
        policies to prevent illegal guns from being used in crimes.
            (3) The Tiahrt Amendments impede enforcement of the gun 
        laws by requiring most background check records to be destroyed 
        within 24 hours, and by barring the Government from requiring 
        annual inventory audits by owners of gun shops.
            (4) A 2012 study by researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg 
        School of Public Health found that the Tiahrt Amendments 
        dramatically increased gun sales to criminals.
            (5) A 2016 study from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate 
        School of Public Health found that in 2008, 79 percent of all 
        guns recovered by police from crime scenes belonged to someone 
        other than the perpetrator--30 percent had been stolen.
            (6) A gun is stolen in the United States every 2 minutes.
            (7) Every year, nearly 115,000 Americans are shot.
            (8) In 2016, 38,658 Americans were killed with a gun.
            (9) In 2016, 289,223 firearms were recovered and traced in 
        the United States, of which 211,384 were traced to a final 
        retail purchaser.
            (10) Having effective policies to prevent illegal gun 
        trafficking makes our families and communities safer.
            (11) Repealing the Tiahrt Amendments would support law 
        enforcement efforts and give the public vital information 
        needed to craft the most effective policies against illegal 
        guns.

SEC. 3. REPEAL OF CERTAIN LIMITATIONS ON THE USE OF DATABASE 
              INFORMATION OF THE BUREAU OF ALCOHOL, TOBACCO, FIREARMS 
              AND EXPLOSIVES.

    (a) The matter under the heading ``Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, 
Firearms and Explosives--Salaries and Expenses'' in title I of division 
B of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2012 
(18 U.S.C. 923 note; Public Law 112-55; 125 Stat. 609-610) is amended 
by striking the 6th proviso and inserting the following: ``Provided 
further, That, during the current fiscal year and in each fiscal year 
thereafter, no funds appropriated under this or any other Act may be 
used to publicly disclose part or all of the contents of the Firearms 
Trace System database maintained by the National Trace Center of the 
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives or any information 
required to be kept by licensees pursuant to section 923(g) of title 
18, United States Code, or required to be reported pursuant to 
paragraphs (3) and (7) of such section if the particular contents or 
information is determined to be exempt from disclosure under subsection 
(b)(7) or (c) of section 552 of title 5, United States Code:''.
    (b) The 6th proviso under the heading ``Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, 
Firearms and Explosives--Salaries and Expenses'' in title II of 
division B of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010 (18 U.S.C. 923 
note; Public Law 111-117; 123 Stat. 3128-3129) is amended by striking 
``beginning in fiscal year 2010 and thereafter'' and inserting ``in 
fiscal year 2010''.
    (c) The 6th proviso under the heading ``Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, 
Firearms and Explosives--Salaries and Expenses'' in title II of 
division B of the Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009 (18 U.S.C. 923 note; 
Public Law 111-8; 123 Stat. 574-576) is amended by striking ``beginning 
in fiscal year 2009 and thereafter'' and inserting ``in fiscal year 
2009''.
    (d) The 6th proviso under the heading ``Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, 
Firearms and Explosives--Salaries and Expenses'' in title II of 
division B of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008 (18 U.S.C. 923 
note; Public Law 110-161; 121 Stat. 1903-1904) is amended by striking 
``beginning in fiscal year 2008 and thereafter'' and inserting ``in 
fiscal year 2008''.
    (e) The 6th proviso under the heading ``Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, 
Firearms and Explosives--Salaries and Expenses'' in title I of the 
Science, State, Justice, Commerce, and Related Agencies Appropriations 
Act, 2006 (18 U.S.C. 923 note; Public Law 109-108; 119 Stat. 2295-2296) 
is amended by striking ``with respect to any fiscal year''.
    (f) The 6th proviso under the heading ``Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, 
Firearms and Explosives--Salaries and Expenses'' in title I of division 
B of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005 (18 U.S.C. 923 note; 
Public Law 108-447; 118 Stat. 2859-2860) is amended by striking ``with 
respect to any fiscal year''.

SEC. 4. REPEAL OF LIMITATION ON IMPOSITION OF REQUIREMENT THAT FIREARMS 
              DEALERS TO CONDUCT PHYSICAL CHECK OF FIREARMS INVENTORY.

    (a) The 5th proviso under the heading ``Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, 
Firearms and Explosives--Salaries and Expenses'' in title II of 
division B of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations 
Act, 2013 (18 U.S.C. 923 note; Public Law 113-6; 127 Stat. 248) is 
amended by striking ``and any fiscal year thereafter''.
    (b) The matter under the heading ``Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, 
Firearms and Explosives--Salaries and Expenses'' in title I of division 
B of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2012 
(18 U.S.C. 923 note; Public Law 112-55; 125 Stat. 609-610) is amended 
by striking the 7th proviso.

SEC. 5. REPEAL OF REQUIREMENT TO DESTROY INSTANT CRIMINAL BACKGROUND 
              CHECK RECORDS WITHIN 24 HOURS.

    Section 511 of the Consolidated and Further Continuing 
Appropriations Act, 2012 (18 U.S.C. 922 note; Public Law 112-55; 125 
Stat. 632) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``for--'' and all that follows through 
        ``(1)''; and
            (2) by striking the semicolon and all that follows and 
        inserting a period.
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