WASHINGTON — Today, after President Joe Biden announced his proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2025, which focuses on keeping Americans safe from violent crime and helping communities respond to gun violence, Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action released the following statements:
“With this budget, President Biden is once again backing up his long standing support for common-sense gun safety programs and tools with life-saving action,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety. “By providing much-needed resources to solve gun crimes, implement background checks, fund research, and build up community-based violence intervention programs, the Biden-Harris Administration is acknowledging that gun violence is a nationwide problem that requires nationwide solutions. We urge Congress to follow the President’s lead and invest in proven solutions to gun violence.”
“President Biden has been putting his money where his mouth is when it comes to prioritizing gun safety and this budget is just further proof,” said Angela Ferrell-Zabala, executive director of Moms Demand Action. “This proposal outlines significant investments into the solutions that we know will keep people safe from gun violence. Congress has a responsibility to the American people to pass this budget and help create safer communities across the country.”
Gun safety highlights from President Biden’s proposed budget:
- Nearly $2 billion for ATF, the nation’s leading law enforcement agency when it comes to protecting the public from gun violence and solving gun crimes.
- Gun extremists in the House have been set on defunding ATF, the FBI, and DOJ – a move that would embolden criminals and endanger our communities.
- A $51 million increase for the FBI to support the continued implementation of enhanced background checks for purchasers under the age of 21 established by the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.
- $100 million for the Department of Justice’s Community Violence Intervention Initiative to support evidence-informed community violence programs proven to reduce gun violence in the most impacted communities.
- The President’s budget also requests additional mandatory and discretionary funding for the Department of Justice and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to secure $5 billion over 10 years for these programs.
- $60 million for gun violence research across the CDC and National Institutes of Health.
- The proposal would repeal the Tiahrt restrictions, which prohibit ATF from releasing certain firearm trace data.
- ATF has interpreted the Tiahrt restrictions over-broadly to prevent public disclosure of the majority of the data in its Firearms Trace System database, including to local and state government officials (other than law enforcement).
- Additionally, the Office of Justice Programs will manage $280 million in supplemental funding provided under the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act in Fiscal Year 2025.
- This includes $150 million for the Byrne State Crisis Intervention Program, $50 million for Community Violence Intervention, $40 million for the STOP School Violence program, and $40 million for the National Criminal History Improvement Program.
