FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Rep. Green, Senators Lee and Thune Fight to End Biden-Era Gun Control
WASHINGTON— Rep. Mark Green joined Senator Mike Lee (R-UT), Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), and 85 Congressional Republicans in sending a letter to request the Trump administration remove the former Biden-Harris administration’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) interim final rule, which greatly restricts the sale of American-made firearms to lawful customers outside of the United States.
Rep. Green said, “The Biden-Harris administration’s interim final rule on issuance and renewal of export licenses for certain firearms, related components, and ammunition has now lasted almost a year. With the confirmation of Secretary Lutnick, I trust that this interim final rule (IFR) will come to an end.
BIS’s actions cost American firearm manufacturers over $500 million annually. It’s time to end this attack on the Second Amendment, and I look forward to immediate action from the Department of Commerce.”
Senator Lee said, “For too long, federal agencies have tried to constrict our Second Amendment rights indirectly, in this case by hurting law-abiding gun manufacturers by severely limiting their ability to export firearms. I look forward to the Trump administration rectifying this unjust rule pushed by Joe Biden’s bureaucrats.”
Read excerpts from the letter here:
“This misguided and destructive IFR is costing the American firearms industry nearly $500 million annually while doing nothing to advance U.S. interests or regional stability. Despite numerous attempts to rein in these actions through letters, legislation, hearings, markups, and oversight, the Biden BIS ignored Congress and used the IFR to advance the Biden administration’s anti-firearms agenda.
….
As you begin work unwinding the numerous “America Last” policies of the Biden administration, we respectfully request that your administration prioritize the expeditious rescission of this IFR and restore the lawful commerce of American firearms and ammunition manufacturers.”
Read the full letter here.
Background: The Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued an interim final rule on firearm exports on April 30, 2024, following a 90-day pause, which lasted more than 200 days. Under the rule, licenses to export firearms for certain countries will lose four-year validity, lowering firearms licenses to only one year. Not only does this vastly increase red tape for licensees, but it will result in BIS needing to process 115% more licenses per year without adequate staff. Thus, those businesses that made significant investments and signed contracts beyond a year now have no certainty. The Biden administration's “crime control” provision holds American firearm exporters responsible for crimes committed in other countries, even if they follow the letter of the law. Setting up a system where the factors leading to a license revocation are completely out of the control of businesses removes the certainty they need to operate. The rule removes exceptions for multiple firearms and related commodities, which could double the number of licenses BIS must approve and will thus cause the backlog to skyrocket even further. American businesses exporting to countries now banned by the interim final rule were served revocation letters telling them they can no longer do business.
Read about Rep. Green’s Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution repealing President Biden’s Gun Export ban that was reported out of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs during the 118th Congress here.
Read about Rep. Green’s Stop the Bureaucratic Ineptitude Shuttering Respectable and Upstanding Lawful Exporters Act (Stop the BIS RULE Act) here and from the Daily Caller’s Katelynn Richardson here.
Read Rep. Green’s November 7, 2023 letter to the Biden-Harris administration’s Department of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, signed by 87 other lawmakers, here. Read more about the letter from The Daily Caller, The Washington Times, and Reuters.
Read Rep. Green’s March 9, 2024 letter to BIS here.
Read about the Protect American Gun Exporters Act here and in the Daily Caller, Fox News and Fox 17 Nashville. You can also read Rep. Green’s op-eds in the Washington Times or in ClarksvilleNow.
Watch Rep. Green’s questioning of the Biden-Harris administration’s Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security Alan F. Estevez in a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing here.
Read Rep. Green’s statement upon BIS’ release of an unpublished version of its interim rule here.
Read about the Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to overturn the Biden administration’s interim final rule on firearm exports that Rep. Green introduced, supported by over 90 other House Republicans and 33 senators, here and in the Daily Caller.
Read what firearm industry leaders are saying about Rep. Green’s efforts here and here.
Read Rep. Green’s opening statement in the House Foreign Affairs markup on his CRA here or watch it here.
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