S.J.Res.14 : Social Security Administration may NOT report mentally impaired beneficiaries to the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS)

Position: Oppose Status: Senate Finance Committee in Washington, D.C.

S.J.Res.14 - A bill to repeal a rule enacted by the Obama Administration that requires the Social Security Administration to report mentally impaired beneficiaries who are incapable of managing their own financial affairs to the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NIC) and prohibits them from purchasing firearms.

Update

UPDATE: A huge thanks to all who called, but unfortunately, the Senate has passed S.J. Res. 14 by a vote of 56-43. Only a simple majority was needed to pass the resolution. Thanks to One Pulse for America and Brady for their work on this. 32 cosponsors (31R, 1D:Sen. Manchin, Joe, III [D-WV])

On February 2, at the behest of the National Rifle Association, the House of Representatives voted 235-180 to repeal a rule enacted by the Obama administration that requires the Social Security Administration to report mentally impaired beneficiaries who are incapable of managing their own financial affairs to the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NIC) so they are prohibited from purchasing firearms. These are individuals who suffer from severe mental illness. (One Pulse for America)

The U.S. Senate is set to vote on the same dangerous legislation, S.J. Res. 14.  We need to get calls in TODAY telling them to vote NO.

Please call your two Senators Wyden and Merkley. Tell them the following:

Please vote NO on S.J. Res. 14. It is the height of irresponsibility to allow severely mentally ill individuals to buy firearms when they are so impaired they can’t even manage their own day-to-day affairs. Thank you for strong support to protect our most vulnerable citizens from gun violence,

Senator Wyden: (503) 326-7525

Senator Merkley: (503) 326-3386

If you do not live in Oregon, find your Senators here:

https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members

If your Senators’ voicemails are full, PLEASE email them via the webform at their website, leave a comment on their Facebook page, or tweet at them. But make sure you contact them!

Please make your contacts today! This vote is coming soon in the Senate and we need to stop S.J. Res. 14 cold!

Key Facts From the Brady Campaign:

The Social Security Administration (SSA) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in May 2016 to comply with existing law requiring federal agencies to report to the National Instant Background Check System (NICS) any individuals at risk of being a danger to themselves and/or others. After receiving and considering 3,995 comments, SSA published its Final Rule on December 19, 2016. Those rules are effective January 18, 2017 with compliance due starting December 19, 2017. Rep. McCarthy introduced House Joint Resolution 40 (H.J. Res. 40) to rescind the rule and Senator Grassley introduced S.J. Res. 14 as a companion in the Senate. The full House passed H.J. Res. 40 Feb. 2nd on a party line vote of 235- 180). S.J. Res. 14, the Senate version of H.J. Res. 40, is now awaiting a Senate floor vote. Key Facts:

  • H.J. Res. 40 and S.J. Res. 14 attempt to reverse the Social Security Administration’s efforts to identify and report those individuals to NICS who are a risk to themselves or others in compliance with a law that Congress passed in 2007 (the NICS Improvement Amendments Act). It is far past time for this rule to be implemented, which assures compliance with well settled federal law.
  • The SSA rule complies with the Executive Action by President Obama to ensure all federal agencies fully comply with the submission of records to the NICS system of individuals who are prohibited from purchasing a firearm.
  • The SSA rule reports the names of individuals to the NICS (i.e. the federal Brady background check system) only if two factors are met:
    • (1) the individual is unable to perform gainful activity due to a severe mental impairment; and
    • (2) the beneficiary is unable to receive their own benefits and needs a representative appointed to manage them.
  • The rule provides for a process for beneficiaries to challenge the determination and appeal it in line with normal appeals procedures. Once the SSA makes a determination that a beneficiary can safely use and possess guns, rights are restored and the person’s name is removed from the background check system.
  • The CRA is a blunt force instrument that would disallow SSA from developing or submitting a similar rule in the future, and reverse a rule that implements what federal law already requires the agency to do.
  • 93% of Americans support Brady background checks and believe that systems should be in place to ensure that guns are not in the hands of individuals who have been determined by federal law to be unable to use them safely. The rule should stand as an important component of ensuring that the Brady background check system remains as efficient and effective as possible.
  • http://www.bradycampaign.org/sites/default/files/TP-Brief-on-SSA-Rule-2-8-17.pdf
  • H.J.Res.40 Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Social Security Administration relating to Implementation of the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007.Identical billCRS02/28/2017 Became Public Law No: 115-8.