Washington, D.C. – Today, Dean of the U.S. House of Representatives, John D. Dingell (D-MI15), Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY04) and Congresswoman Lois Capp (D-CA23), sent a joint letter to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), known as "the investigative arm of Congress,”  requesting an audit of the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), which is used by federally licensed firearms dealers to determine whether an individual is disqualified by law from possessing a firearm. 

Dingell and McCarthy, along with former Representative Rick Boucher (D-VA), authored the NICS Improvement Amendment Acts of 2007, which enacted reforms to provide for a more robust and complete system.  The reforms were intended to ensure those who have been judged to be a danger to society or have committed felonies were not slipping through cracks while preserving the 2nd Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens.

Three years after enactment, the lawmakers want to ensure the reforms are being properly administered and enforced.  The recent tragic attack on their colleague, Representative Gabrielle Giffords, that claimed the lives of six individuals and wounded 13 others underscores the importance of keeping NICS up-to-date.   As the Wall Street Journal reported, 0.74 percent of NICS denials are based on mental health reasons as opposed to 73 percent based on criminal history.  In addition, the National Center for State Courts reported that about twice as many mental health records should be included in NICS as the system currently holds.  While the suspect was not adjudicated mentally deficient or committed to a mental institution, and therefore not legally prohibited from purchasing a firearm for mental health reasons, questions remain, such as the extent to which he may have been unlawfully using drugs (another federal prohibitor).

Among the questions the letter asks are:  whether the funding levels appropriated by Congress are enough to meet the demands of the program, what the challenges are of states and local governments to transmit accurate mental health records, what information pertaining to unlawful drug use and mental health adjudications are reportable, and whether erroneous or obsolete state records are being timely and accurately removed.

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