WASHINGTON, DC (August 7, 2024) — U.S. Representatives Valerie Foushee (NC-04), Maxwell Frost (FL-10), and Don Beyer (VA-08), along with 26 other House Democrats, introduced H.R. 9253, the National Gun Violence Research Act, legislation that establishes a coordinated national gun violence research program and funds projects through federal agencies that will examine the nature, root causes, consequences, and prevention of gun violence.
“More than 120 Americans are killed by gun violence each day, including at least two deaths a day in my district alone,” said Congresswoman Valerie Foushee. “Communities across the country have suffered from our nation’s gun violence epidemic for far too long, and it is imperative that the federal government responds and acts urgently to save lives and keep our communities safe. As a Member of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force and the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, I am proud to introduce the National Gun Violence Research Act with Representatives Frost and Beyer to address the root causes of gun violence, advance and fund gun violence research, and establish an interagency national gun violence research program. This bill will help turn critical data and research findings into real, lifesaving policies and solutions, equipping us with the tools necessary to address and fully confront this growing public health crisis.”
“An epidemic that claims 100 lives a day demands a whole of government approach,” said Congressman Maxwell Frost. “Gun violence is a crisis that has devastated too many communities and left too many families broken — getting the National Gun Violence Research Act signed into law is just one of many things we must do to fully understand how and why guns get into the wrong hands and more importantly, how we can effectively use that research to implement policy solutions that save lives. I’m proud that the work of the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention under Vice President Harris has already begun to accelerate the coordination of federal research and policy recommendations. This bill will propel that even further and fund that work permanently. As a Member of the Science, Space, and Technology Committee, which oversees the coordination of research at several of these agencies, I’m glad I can work with my Committee colleagues, Reps. Foushee and Beyer, to take action.”
“Gun violence claims nearly 40,000 American lives every year and leaves 115,000 more injured,” said Congressman Don Beyer. “In addition to the brutal human costs, it perpetuates cycles of violence in affected communities, adversely impacts children’s education and life outcomes, and takes an immense toll on families. Gun violence has far-reaching, devastating impacts on American society yet states and our federal government often lack data that could improve our understanding of its causes or identify effective prevention programs. Our bill would solve this problem by creating a coordinated research body to provide the critical information and data needed to craft effective policies and programming to reduce gun violence and save American lives.”
The rate of gun-related deaths in the United States has risen to more than eleven times higher than that of other high-income nations and is the leading cause of death among American teenagers and youth. Gun violence disproportionately affects marginalized communities and people of color, with Black Americans thirteen times more likely to die from gun homicide than White Americans in 2021, while Hispanic and Latino Americans were 2.5 times more likely to die from gun homicide. Furthermore, guns accounted for 79% of homicides and 55% of suicides in 2022, totaling to over 48,000 deaths in the United States.
The U.S. Surgeon General recently declared that gun violence is a public health crisis. To address this pressing challenge, the Surgeon General called for the implementation of a national research program to examine the leading causes and preventative measures for gun violence and to enhance public understanding.
The National Gun Violence Research Act takes a whole of government approach and will work in collaboration with federal agencies to support gun violence research and accelerate the translation of research into effective policy interventions aimed at reducing the incidence of injury and death related to firearms.
Specifically, the National Gun Violence Research Act of 2024 will:
- Establish the National Gun Violence Research Program and award grants on a competitive basis to institutions of higher education and nonprofit organizations and establish National Centers for Violence Research through the National Science Foundation (NSF) to conduct multidisciplinary research and education initiatives.
- Expand the pool of researchers and students in the field of gun violence research and improve interagency planning and coordination of federal government activities relating to gun violence research.
- Direct the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to promote the development of voluntary consensus gun safety technical standards and strikes longstanding appropriations riders that have prevented federal firearms research.
- Establishes an Interagency Working Group led by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Director and includes collaboration with the National Science Foundation (NSF), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the National Institute of Justice (NIJ).
- Creates an Advisory Committee composed of members including representatives of research institutions, institutions of higher education, health care and social services providers, local government agencies, law enforcement, community-based organizations, and relevant nonprofit organizations who are qualified to provide advice on the National Gun Violence Research Program.
The National Gun Violence Research Act is endorsed by: Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, Everytown for Gun Safety, Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB), Giffords, March For Our Lives, March Fourth, MomsRising, National Hispanic Health Foundation, Newtown Action Alliance, and North Carolinians Against Gun Violence.
“As an organization whose mission is to advance health and well-being by promoting research and education in biological and biomedical sciences, FASEB continues to support efforts to allow the NIH and other federal agencies to fund peer-reviewed scientific research and data collection that will inform the development, evaluation, and implementation of public health interventions to understand and prevent gun violence, injuries, and mortality, and address physical and mental traumas associated with such violence. We commend Rep. Foushee for her leadership in working with the House Science Committee to introduce the National Gun Violence Research Act,” said Ellen Kuo, FASEB Associate Director of Legislative Affairs.
“We believe this Act has the potential to expand our understanding of gun violence’s root causes and inform future policies that can prevent wider spread gun violence. As student representatives that advocate on behalf of over 10,000 graduate and professional students, we wholeheartedly support efforts to prevent future campus threats. GPSG is committed to supporting this legislation and urges Congress to decisively stand against gun violence by passing the National Gun Violence Research Act. Students across the nation deserve to feel safe and protected on campus. This Act would be a step in the right direction in protecting our students and communities,” said the Graduate and Professional Student Government at Duke University.
“Information is power, and it’s been shown that the more we know about gun violence, the more equipped we are to stop it. Representative Foushee’s legislation brings together a breadth of federal research capabilities to do just that. Gun violence should be a top research priority for this Congress, and we’re grateful to Representative Foushee for bringing this issue to the forefront with this thoughtful legislation,” said Emma Brown, Executive Director at GIFFORDS?
“The National Gun Violence Research Act is a critical step forward in our efforts to understand and prevent gun violence. We know that we have to address the gun violence epidemic at its roots, and we need research to zero in on the evidence-based strategies that prevent violence long before someone picks up a gun,” says Elena Perez, Senior Policy Associate at March for Our Lives. “For decades, the NRA and the gun lobby have tried to prevent research into gun violence because they know that hiding the facts helps them profit off the violence. Enough is enough. Increased federal investments into gun violence research is long overdue and we urge Congress to pass this bill immediately and end this crisis once and for all.”?
“In the United States today, our lives are punctuated by horrific incidents of gun violence – incidents that become headlines and incidents that do not, but every one still destroys families and communities,” says Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, Executive Director and CEO of MomsRising.“America’s moms want the scourge of gun violence to end and MomsRising strongly supports the National Gun Violence Research Act, which offers hope and promise through the national gun violence research program it would create to address the root causes of gun violence and identify best practices to stem it. We thank representatives Valerie Foushee (D-NC), Maxwell Frost (D-FL), and Don Beyer (D-VA) for sponsoring this bill and urge Congress to pass it right away. There’s no time to waste.”
Dr. Elena Rios, President, National Hispanic Health Foundation, applauds Representatives Valerie Foushee, Maxwell Frost, and Don Beyer, for introducing “The National Gun Violence Research Act” that supports NSF education programs to increase diverse researchers and research for effective interventions to reduce gun violence in Latino and African American communities.
“Gun violence is a public health crisis. Over 1.2 million Americans have been shot since my neighbor killed?20 children and six educators in Sandy Hook in 2012. Guns are the number one killer of American children and teens.?The National Gun Violence Research Act is a critical piece of legislation that will allow us to better understand and address the gun violence epidemic that has devastated so many communities across our nation”, said Po Murray, Chairwoman of Newtown Action Alliance. “By investing in comprehensive research and removing barriers to federal firearms research, we can develop comprehensive, effective, evidence-based solutions to prevent gun violence and save lives. Our children and communities deserve nothing less.”?
The National Gun Violence Research Act of 2024 is cosponsored by: Reps. Alma Adams (D-NC), Nanette Barragán (D-CA), Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), Cori Bush (D-MO), André Carson (D-IN), Ed Case (D-HI), Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), Daniel Goldman (D-NY), Hank Johnson (D-GA), Steven Horsford (D-NV), Jeff Jackson (D-NC), Ro Khanna (D-CA), Summer Lee (D-PA), Kevin Mullin (D-CA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Deborah Ross (D-NC), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Terri Sewell (D-AL), Haley Stevens (D-MI), Shri Thanedar (D-MI), Dina Titus (D-NV), Ritchie Torres (D-NY), Paul Tonko (D-NY), Eric Swalwell (D-CA), and Nikema Williams (D-GA).
The full bill text of H.R. 9253, the National Gun Violence Research Act of 2024 is available here.
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