FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Rep. Green Protects Small Businesses from Federal Overreach
Continues fight against the Biden administration's devastating assault on firearms exporters
WASHINGTON—Today, Rep. Mark Green—alongside 80 other lawmakers—introduced a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to overturn the Biden administration’s interim final rule on firearm exports,. The CRA comes after the Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) instituted a 90-day pause, which lasted for over 200 days, on the issuance of new export licenses involving certain firearms, related components, and ammunition. Senator Bill Hagerty (TN) led the Senate version of the CRA alongside 33 other senators.
Green said, “The Biden administration is out of control. It’s clear President Biden has ordered the Commerce Department to attack small businesses and firearm exporters. This is completely contradictory to the Department’s statutory duty ‘to create the conditions for economic growth and opportunity for all communities.’ Congress has the power and the duty to hold the Biden administration accountable for its egregious attacks against gun owners and American businesses. This Congressional Review Act will put a stop to BIS’ overreaching rule.”
He continued, “BIS’ interim final rule will have sweeping impacts on American gun dealers. Since these licenses will be approved yearly on a case-by-case basis, it is entirely up to the whims of anti-gun Washington bureaucrats whether businesses continue to operate. Left unchecked, the Biden administration will go after thousands of other responsible, law-abiding businesses across the country. Congress is fully within its Constitutional purview to overturn the Biden administration’s interim final rule. The time for action is now.”
Senator Haggerty said: “This rule by the Biden administration damages the firearm industry, which harms Tennessee manufacturers. This politically motivated effort unlawfully circumvents the legislative process and destroys American exports, jobs, and small businesses that support the firearm and ammunition industry. I’m pleased to introduce this CRA to overturn the Biden administration’s version of Operation Choke Point.”
House Cosponsors: Michael McCaul (R-TX), Elise Stefanik (R-NY), Richard Hudson (R-NC), Michael Guest (R-MS), Roger Williams (R-TX), Sam Graves (R-MO), Mike Bost (R-IL), Andy Ogles (R-TN), Diana Harshbarger (R-TN), David Kustoff (R-TN), Scott DesJarlais (R-TN), Tim Burchett (R-TN), Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN), Bob Good (R-VA), Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Chip Roy (R-TX), Michael Cloud (R-TX), Andrew Clyde (R-GA), Josh Brecheen (R-OK), Ben Cline (R-VA), Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Morgan Griffith (R-VA), Andy Harris (R-MD), Clay Higgins (R-LA), Mary Miller (R-IL), Barry Moore (R-AL), Troy Nehls (R-TX), Tom Tiffany (R-WI), Warren Davidson (R-OH), Dan Bishop (R-NC), Eric Burlison (R-MO), Byron Donalds (R-FL), Russ Fulcher (R-ID), Alex Mooney (R-WV), Greg Murphy (R-NC), Ralph Norman (R-SC), Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA), Blake Moore (R-UT), Bill Posey (R-FL), Glenn Grothman (R-WI), Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), Ann Wagner (R-MO), Russell Fry (R-SC), Rudy Yakym (R-IN), Tony Gonzales (R-TX), Aaron Bean (R-FL), Pete Sessions (R-TX), William Timmons (R-SC), Claudia Tenney (R-NY), Randy Weber (R-TX), Adrian Smith (R-NE), Tracey Mann (R-KS), Carol Miller (R-WV), John Moolenaar (R-MI), Kevin Hern (R-OK), Chuck Edwards (R-NC), Ashley Hinson (R-IA), Tim Walberg (R-MI), Greg Steube (R-FL), Cory Mills (R-FL), Pat Fallon (R-TX), Thomas Massie (R-KY), Mike Ezell (R-MS), Nick Langworthy (R-NY), John Rutherford (R-FL), Jack Bergman (R-MI), Scott Franklin (R-FL), Trent Kelly (R-MS), Keith Self (R-TX), Andy Barr (R-KY), Jerry Carl (R-AL), James Baird (R-IN), Laurel Lee (R-FL), Randy Feenstra (R-IA), Brian Babin (R-TX), Kelly Armstrong (R-ND), Barry Loudermilk (R-GA), Brad Finstad (R-MN), Scott Perry (R-PA), Joe Wilson (R-SC)
Senate Cosponsors: John Barrasso (R-WY), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), John Boozman (R-AR), Mike Braun (R-IN), Katie Britt (R-AL), Ted Budd (R-NC), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Steven Daines (R-MT), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), James Lankford (R-OK), Mike Lee (R-UT), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), James Risch (R-ID), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Eric Schmitt (R-MO), Rick Scott (R-FL), Tim Scott (R-SC), John Thune (R-SD), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), J.D. Vance (R-OH), Roger Wicker (R-MS)
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 could result in BIS needing to process thousands more licenses per year without adequate staff. In addition, this change does not have a grandfather clause for those licensees who have been granted a four-year license. 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 amount of licenses BIS must approve and will thus cause the backlog to skyrocket. Once this interim final rule goes into effect, BIS plans to send revocation letters to hundreds, potentially thousands, of license holders, notifying them that they are no longer eligible to do business.
Read the exclusive on the CRA by Katelynn Richardson with the Daily Caller here.
Read about Rep. Green’s previous bill, the STOP the BIS RULE Act here and in the Daily Caller.
Read about Rep. Green's bill, the Protect American Gun Exporters Act here, Fox News and Fox 17 Nashville. You can also read his op-eds in the Washington Times or in ClarksvilleNow.
Read Rep. Green's letter to Department of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, signed by 87 other Republicans here. Read about the letter from The Daily Caller, The Washington Times, and Reuters.
Watch Rep. Green grill U.S. Commerce Secretary Alan F. Estevez on the so-called 90-day pause in a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing here.
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