Today, U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09) celebrated the passage in the House of $25 million to study gun violence included in his legislation, H.R. 1865. Congress ceased funding gun violence research in 1996 as a result of the infamous Dickey Amendment. House Democrats successfully fought to include a clarification in last year’s spending bill stating that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) could conduct research on gun violence, despite the Republican blockade. Today’s amendment to Pascrell’s legislation finally dissolves the short-sighted policy.

“For too long, federal agencies have been unconscionably forced to sit on the sidelines while our churches, schools, and theaters have remained in the crosshairs of gun violence. Allowing agencies like the CDC and others to study the causes and effects of gun violence will provide a new dimension of safety in our communities, help protect our first responders, and literally save lives,” said Rep. Pascrell, a longtime proponent of gun safety reforms. “In the aftermath of tragic mass shooting events and in an attempt to avoid a real discussion on gun reform, my Republican colleagues often cite mental health as the main issue behind this terrible epidemic. Providing these funds to our federal agencies to study the causes of gun violence will let us put their bad-faith theory to the test. This is tremendous news for a nation sick and tired of losing our friends, neighbors, and loved-ones to gun violence. At long last the Dickey Amendment is dead.”

Rep. Pascrell has long championed comprehensive state and federal gun control measures in Congress. Shortly after the Stoneman High School tragedy, Pascrell and Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY-12) offered legislation to reinstate the Obama-era mental health background check for gun purchases that was rolled back by congressional Republicans and repealed by Donald Trump shortly after he entered office. In February 2018, Pascrell and Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL-07) reintroduced the Gun Violence Prevention and Safe Communities Act, which aims to combat gun violence through increased federal taxes on guns and ammunition and by closing tax and regulatory loopholes on some of the most popular and deadly firearms. Pascrell also helped secure $2.2 million in school safety grants for schools all throughout northern New Jersey last October.