Categories
The federal government could be forced to spend $10 billion to enforce its $2.6 trillion new law on gun control, a law intended to curb the spread of gun violence in the United States, a senior House Republican aide said on Tuesday.
The aide, speaking on condition of anonymity because the aide wasn’t authorized to discuss the bill publicly, said the spending could come from the gun-control money earmarked for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Justice Department, and the State Department.
The aides said the law would also include $6 billion for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to implement the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, which is meant to screen potential buyers to prevent gun violence.
The bill would also fund the Bureau’s National Criminal Information Center to help law enforcement better investigate suspected gun-related crimes.
The source said Congress is considering the bill, which could also include an increase in funding for the National Crime Information Center, which was created in 2007.
The law, which passed with bipartisan support, requires gun owners to register their firearms with the government, but it does not require them to report any illegal activity.
Gun owners can buy their firearms in private stores, through a licensed dealer, or through private transfers.
The government collects background checks on private sales, but gun-rights advocates say it is too slow to process the data.
Gun-rights supporters say the data is incomplete because gun manufacturers and sellers may not report sales that occur on private transactions.
The House Judiciary Committee is expected to consider the bill in its current form on Thursday.
A bill to expand background checks in states with a high proportion of minority and women was also recently introduced in the Senate, but its chances of passage are uncertain.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
