HR 4434 : Fix NICS Act of 2017

Position: Support Status: Died in a previous Congress

Identical language to this bill was added to the 2018 Omnibus bill which passed on March 22, 2108. It is now law.

This bipartisan gun violence prevention bill is intended to improve the efficacy of the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). Currently, NICS is missing records that would prevent dangerous individuals from accessing firearms. Polls show the vast majority of Americans support legislation to improve NICS.

This bill is identical to S 2135.

Update


The language of this bill was added to the 2018 Omnibus bill passed which was passed on March 22, 2018. 5 co-sponsors (3 D, 2 R)

Fix NICS language is identical to HR 4434 and S 2135.

The omnibus includes a new law (the Fix NICS Act) that would increase enforcement of the federal law requiring state law enforcement agencies to report criminal records to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), and give states more financial incentives to report records. It’s just about the most modest thing that Congress could do on guns, but it’s still sparked some conservative pushback; the Freedom Caucus wanted to pair it with a law requiring states to recognize each other’s concealed carry permits. Vox

While the bill does require federal agencies to add names to NICS, it’s a far cry from real reform like universal background checks and higher standards for gun ownership.