Pappas Calls for Vote on Gun Violence Prevention Legislation

Press Release

Today, Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01) alongside Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger (VA-07) and Chrissy Houlahan (PA-06) and 18 other colleagues called on House Leadership and the Judiciary Committee to split up the Protecting Our Kids legislative package and hold standalone floor votes on each bill.

In their letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Majority Whip James Clyburn, and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, the Members write: "We write as Members of Congress who intend to support, solemnly and proudly, every component of the intended "Protecting Our Kids" legislative package. In its draft form, this package currently includes the following individual bills: (1) Raise the Age Act; (2) Prevent Gun Trafficking Act; (3) Untraceable Firearms Act; (4) Ethan's Law; (5) Safe Guns, Safe Kids Act; (6) Kimberly Vaughan Firearm Safe Storage Act; (7) Closing the Bump Stock Loophole Act; and (8) Keep Americans Safe Act. However, we ask that you not combine these bills into one large package, but instead immediately bring each individual bill forward for a standalone vote on the House Floor"

They go on to say, "We fully expect each of these bills will pass in the House, but as we focus on actually delivering for a hurting America, passing each bill individually will ensure that every commonsense measure we are putting forth arrives in the U.S. Senate with the maximum bipartisan support it may garner, recorded through individual votes -- giving us the maximum chance of passing gun violence prevention legislation in the Senate and into law."

The full text of the letter is below and a PDF is available here.

Dear Speaker Pelosi, Leader Hoyer, Whip Clyburn, and Chairman Nadler,

It has been one week since 19 children were massacred in their classroom. They were beloved sons, daughters, brothers, and sisters -- and they will never go home to their families. As

Americans across the country grapple with the depravity of their murders, our constituents want action. They want Congress to rise to this moment. They want us to recognize the horror that has befallen Uvalde, the heartache that will never leave the families, and the stress schoolchildren everywhere feel as they worry whether they may be next.

The American people want us to act in honor of our fellow Americans -- the grandmothers and parents -- who were massacred in a grocery store in Buffalo. They want us to achieve progress in honor of those who were murdered, and they want us to lead -- making real legislative progress to improve the safety of our communities.

We write as Members of Congress who intend to support, solemnly and proudly, every component of the intended "Protecting Our Kids" legislative package. In its draft form, this package currently includes the following individual bills: (1) Raise the Age Act; (2) Prevent Gun Trafficking Act; (3) Untraceable Firearms Act; (4) Ethan's Law; (5) Safe Guns, Safe Kids Act; (6) Kimberly Vaughan Firearm Safe Storage Act; (7) Closing the Bump Stock Loophole Act; and (8) Keep Americans Safe Act.

However, we ask that you not combine these bills into one large package, but instead immediately bring each individual bill forward for a standalone vote on the House Floor. The American people are expecting action from us -- they want us to govern and pass laws that will protect their children and help make their communities safer

While we wish every Member of Congress in the House and Senate would join us in supporting all these bills, we know that is not our current reality, and given the composition of the U.S.

Congress, we know we must have bipartisan support for bills we want to become law. In this moment of urgency and loss, the American people deserve to have legislators focused on results -- getting bills to the President's desk -- and that only happens when we work to build coalitions of support for our legislation.

As Members of the majority party, we must make a good faith effort to invite our colleagues across the aisle to join us in debating the merits of each bill and in voting for each bill. Importantly, the American people also deserve to know how their Members of Congress will vote on each of these provisions -- and a summary package eliminates that possibility.

We fully expect each of these bills will pass in the House, but as we focus on actually delivering for a hurting America, passing each bill individually will ensure that every commonsense measure we are putting forth arrives in the U.S. Senate with the maximum bipartisan support it may garner, recorded through individual votes -- giving us the maximum chance of passing gun violence prevention legislation in the Senate and into law.

We somberly appreciate the opportunity to advocate for each of these bills within our communities and the halls of Congress, and we look forward to casting our votes next week -- no matter how long it may take. Robust congressional debate and thorough voting action is what we owe our hurting communities, scared school children, and the American people -- who are demanding action of us.

Sincerely,

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