119-hr4251

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4251 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 4251

 To require the Attorney General to report certain revocation and 
 remedial action data with respect to Federal firearm licenses and to 
 require the Comptroller General of the United States to study the 
 effectiveness of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and 
 Explosives in investigating and revoking the licenses.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 June 30, 2025

 Ms. Brownley (for herself, Ms. Norton, and Mr. Goldman of New York) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
 the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To require the Attorney General to report certain revocation and 
 remedial action data with respect to Federal firearm licenses and to 
 require the Comptroller General of the United States to study the 
 effectiveness of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and 
 Explosives in investigating and revoking the licenses.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting Americans from Reckless 
Gun Dealers Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. ANNUAL REPORT OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code is 
amended by inserting after 

section 925D the following:
``

Sec. 925E. Annual report to Congress on license inspections.
 ``

    (a) In General.--Within 180 days after the date of the enactment 
of this section, and annually thereafter, the Attorney General shall 
submit to the appropriate congressional committees a written report on 
the actions undertaken by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and 
Explosives in the year covered by the report to issue and revoke 
licenses and inspect licensees under 

section 923, that includes the 
following:
 ``

    (1) The number of inspections completed each month.
 ``

    (2) The number of inspections that identified at least 1 
 serious violation.
 ``

    (3) The number of licenses that were revoked, the number 
 of licenses that were not renewed in lieu of revocation, and 
 the number of licenses surrendered after an inspection.
 ``

    (4) For each licensee whose license was revoked on the 
 basis of an inspection, the name and location of the licensee, 
 the date of revocation, and any serious violation identified by 
 the inspection.
 ``

    (5) For each licensee whose license was not renewed in 
 lieu of revocation after an inspection, the name and location 
 of the licensee, the date the license expired, and any serious 
 violation identified by the inspection.
 ``

    (6) For each licensee who surrendered such a license 
 after an inspection, including a licensee who discontinued 
 business operations, the name and location of the licensee, the 
 date of surrender, and any serious violation identified by the 
 inspection.
 ``

    (7) The number of inspections that identified at least 1 
 serious violation but with respect to which the Attorney 
 General did not revoke the applicable license, broken down by--
 ``
        (A) the Attorney General's decision not to pursue 
 revocation, further broken down by the Attorney 
 General's reason for the decision;
 ``
        (B) the reversal of an initial decision of the 
 Attorney General to revoke the license after a hearing 
 held pursuant to 

section 923

    (f)

    (2) ; and
 ``
            (C) the order of a court to reverse a revocation 
 after a petition was filed for review of a final agency 
 determination.
 ``

    (8) The reasons of the Attorney General not to pursue 
 revocation, broken down geographically based on the location of 
 the field office of the Bureau with responsibility for the area 
 where the licensee involved is located.
 ``

    (9) The number of reports of violations and warning 
 letters issued and warning conferences held by the Bureau, 
 broken down geographically based on the location of the field 
 office of the Bureau involved.
 ``

    (b) Publication on Website.--On each date a report required by 
subsection

    (a) is submitted, the Attorney General shall cause to be 
published on the website of the Bureau the information contained in the 
report.
 ``
            (c) Appropriate Congressional Committees.--In this section, the 
term `appropriate congressional committees' means--
 ``

    (1) the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 
 Representatives; and
 ``

    (2) the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate.
 ``
            (d) Serious Violation.--In this section, the term `serious 
violation' means one of the following:
 ``

    (1) Refusing to allow an inspection pursuant to 

section 923

    (g) .
 ``

    (2) Transferring a firearm in violation of 

section 922
            (d) .
 ``

    (3) Failing to wait 3 business days before transferring a 
 firearm pursuant to 

section 922

    (t)

    (1) .
 ``

    (4) Failing to comply with any other requirement of 
 

section 922

    (t)

    (1) before transferring a firearm.
 ``

    (5) Falsifying a record required to be maintained 
 pursuant to 

section 923

    (g) .
 ``

    (6) Failing to respond to a trace request pursuant to 
 

section 923

    (g)

    (7) .
 ``

    (7) Transferring a firearm to another person with the 
 knowledge that the person is making a straw purchase of the 
 firearm in violation of 

section 932.
 ``

    (8) Failing to submit a report of multiple sales or other 
 dispositions to an unlicensed person pursuant to 

section 923

    (g)

    (3) .
 ``

    (9) Failing to report a theft or loss of a firearm 
 pursuant to 

section 923

    (g)

    (6) .
 ``

    (10) Failing to maintain an accurate record of the 
 receipt, sale, or other disposition of a firearm pursuant to 
 

section 923

    (g)

    (2) .''.

    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents for such chapter is 
amended by inserting after the item relating to 

section 925D the 
following:

``925E. Annual report to Congress on license inspections.''.

SEC. 3. GAO STUDY AND REPORT ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE BUREAU OF 
 ALCOHOL, TOBACCO, FIREARMS, AND EXPLOSIVES TO INVESTIGATE 
 FEDERAL FIREARM LICENSES.

    (a) Study.--The Comptroller General of the United States shall 
conduct a study on the operations and procedures used to issue and 
revoke licenses under 

section 923 of title 18, United States Code, and 
to investigate and inspect holders of such licenses, that focuses on--

    (1) whether systemic failures in the issuance and 
 revocation of the licenses have resulted in ineffective 
 enforcement of chapter 44 of such title;

    (2) the extent to which the Attorney General has exercised 
 discretion not to pursue revocation of a license based on the 
 putative existence of extraordinary circumstances, 
 notwithstanding a finding by the Attorney General that a 
 licensee willfully committed a violation that renders the 
 license eligible for revocation;

    (3) geographic variability in the enforcement of such 
 chapter;

    (4) the outcomes related to the revocation of licenses, 
 including--
        (A) the number of licensees who received a notice 
 of license revocation but whose licenses were not 
 revoked; and
        (B) the average and median periods of time from 
 inspection to revocation of a license, broken down by--
            (i) revocations without hearing or appeal 
 by the licensee;
            (ii) revocations after an administrative 
 determination without judicial review pursued 
 by the licensee; and
            (iii) revocations after such a judicial 
 review; and

    (5) the policies and practices for providing oversight of 
 the activities of the licensees during the pendency of 
 revocation proceedings, including while a licensee seeks 
 judicial review.

    (b) Report to Congress.--Within 1 year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 
shall submit a written report to Congress on the results of the study 
required by subsection

    (a) .
 <all>