September 2023

WASHINGTON, D.C. – House Appropriations Republicans have loaded up their draft annual spending bills with at least 15 poison pill policy riders that fuel gun violence. The Clean Budget Coalition, which is tracking the poison pills added to federal spending bills, has repeatedly called on Congress to remove all of these harmful measures. Gun riders include:

Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies

• The Multiple Firearms Reporting Rider would eliminate requirements for licensed firearm dealers to report to the U.S. Department of Justice on the sale of multiple rifles or shotguns to the same individual.
• The Ghost Guns Rider would forbid implementation, enforcement, and legal defense of a rule to regulate ghost guns, a weapon of choice for criminals.
• The Stabilizing Brace Definition Rider would forbid implementation, enforcement, and legal defense of a rule that clarifies which factors are considered by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) when evaluating firearms equipped with a purported stabilizing brace or other rearward attachment. Those factors determine whether the weapons are subject to regulation.
• The Gun Violence EO Rider would block administration and enforcement of President Joe Biden’s Executive Order 14092 on reducing gun violence.
• The Recent Gun Rules Rider would block implementation of any measure, regulation, or guidance issued or finalized by ATF after January 21, 2021, effectively blocking many of the Biden administration’s current and future efforts to reduce gun violence.
• The Gun Buyback Rider would block funds for gun buyback and relinquishment.
• The Red Flag Rider would block implementation of red flag laws or extreme risk protection orders that keep guns out of the hands of those prone to violence.
• The Demand 2 Rider would block the Demand 2 program unless reporting thresholds are modified. That program is designed to increase oversight of federal firearm licensees with a high number of sales of guns used in crimes within three years of their purchase
• The Gun Confiscation Rider would require notification and hearing opportunities for gun owners prior to the confiscation of a firearm – putting law enforcement officers at risk.
• The New Gun Rules Rider would prohibit the study of, preparation for, or proposal of any future administrative or executive actions that would be interpreted as a restriction on the production, purchase, sale, or transfer of any firearm unless expressly authorized by Congress.
• The ATF Civil Actions Rider would eliminate funds to advise, promote, or support any civil actions to which ATF is not a named party against any person purported to be subject to the regulation and oversight of the agency.
• The Stabilizing Brace Tracking Rider would block the ATF’s ability to classify, tax, or register any firearm with an attached stabilizing brace, like the one used in the mass shooting at Christian Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee in March 2023.

Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies

• The Firearms on Public Lands Rider would allow firearms on public lands managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Financial Services and General Government

• The Out-of-State Gun Permits Rider would allow an individual with a valid weapons carry permit from any state or territory to possess and carry a concealed handgun in areas governed by the District of Columbia and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.
• The IRS Guns Rider would prevent the IRS from purchasing firearms or ammunition above the levels in the agency’s possession as of July 13, 2023. This rider stems from the right-wing conspiracy theory that the IRS is stockpiling firearms to initiate an assault against Americans and to prevent Americans from accessing ammunition during an ammo shortage.

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