Grassley, Cruz Introduce Comprehensive Legislation That Targets Violent Criminals, Safeguards Second Amendment

WASHINGTON - Senators Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Ted Cruz of Texas are introducing an alternative amendment to gun legislation pending on the Senate floor.  Their "Protecting Communities and Preserving the Second Amendment Act" would preserve the Second Amendment while providing important fixes to existing law.

The Grassley-Cruz proposal would reauthorize and improve the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), increase resources for prosecutions of gun crime, address mental illness in the criminal justice system, and strengthen criminal law by including straw purchasing and illegal firearm trafficking statutes.

"When people study our amendment, they'll see a sensible alternative that was developed from the ground up.  It's got wide-ranging, broad-based support and takes a responsible approach to fixing problems with the current background check system," Grassley said.  "We've put together an amendment that can effectively address some of the problems we've seen while protecting Second Amendment rights.  I've been very interested in the mental health aspect of this debate, so we include provisions to study and address that issue.  My oversight of Operation Fast and Furious highlighted some serious flaws within the gun trafficking and straw purchasing area, and Senator Cruz has done an exceptionally good job of helping develop that portion of our alternative.  In addition, we both understand the importance of ensuring that Second Amendment protections are in place for veterans, along with every other American."

"I am glad to work with Sen. Grassley on this important amendment, which presents a reasonable alternative to the current legislation being considered while placing top priority on preserving Americans' inalienable right to bear arms," Sen. Cruz said. "Rather than restricting the rights of law-abiding Americans, we should be focusing on keeping guns out of the hands of violent criminals, which this legislation accomplishes. While the Obama Administration continues to politicize a terrible tragedy to push its anti-gun agenda, I am proud to stand beside my fellow senators to present common-sense measures that will increase criminal prosecutions of felons who try to buy guns, criminalize straw purchasing and gun trafficking, and address mental health issues."

Sponsors of the Protecting Communities and Preserving the Second Amendment Act of 2013 include Senators Lindsay Graham of South Carolina, John Thune of South Dakota, Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, John Hoeven of North Dakota, Orrin Hatch of Utah, Jeff Flake of Arizona, Dan Coats of Indiana, John Cornyn of Texas, Pat Roberts of Kansas, Roger Wicker of Mississippi, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, James Risch of Idaho, Marco Rubio of Florida, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, John Boozman of Arkansas, Mike Johanns of Nebraska, Rob Portman of Ohio, and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

This legislation will:

·         Improve and reauthorize grants for NICS database;

·         Require federal courts to submit relevant information to NICS;

·         Ensure that relevant mental health records are submitted by states to NICS;

·         Condition federal grant money for states on their submission of mental health records to NICS;

·         Increase federal prosecution of gun violence by establishing the Nationwide Project Exile Program and establishing a high level federal taskforce;

·         Study of the causes of mass shootings;

·         Responsibly addresses gun violence by criminalizing straw purchasing of firearms and gun trafficking;

·         Second Amendment Protections for Veterans;

·         Require the Department of Justice to explain to Congress why it has or has not been prosecuting gun cases;

·         Place Limitations on Fast & Furious type operations by DOJ;

·         Authorize FFL's to utilize the NICS database to for voluntary background checks of employees;

·         Authorize FFL's to access the FBI's National Crime Information Center stolen gun database to ensure that a firearm is not stolen prior to acquisition;

·         Reauthorize the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act (MIOTCRA) with amendments;

·         Address school safety by Reauthorizes the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Secure our Schools Program through 2023. 

Here is a section-by-section summary of the bill and a copy of the text of the bill.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Congressman Dave Loebsack (IA-02) and Congresswoman Cheri Bustos (IL-17) urged the House Appropriations Committee to provide funding for the activation of Thomson Prison in their appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2014. 

In a letter to the Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS), Congressman Frank Wolf of Virginia, and the Ranking Member, Congressman Chaka Fattah of Pennsylvania, Loebsack and Bustos urged the inclusion of the Department of Justice's budget request to activate new prisons, including Thomson prison.

Loebsack has long pushed to activate funding for opening Thomson Prison.  He has worked to push Chairman Wolf to include this funding in previous appropriations bills.

A signed copy of the letter can be found here.

Plan Will Improve 2,142 Miles of Highway, Replace or Rehabilitate 517 Bridges and Make Major Investments in Public Transit

SPRINGFIELD - Governor Pat Quinn today was joined by Illinois Transportation Secretary Ann L. Schneider to unveil a six-year, $12.62 billion construction program that will improve roads and bridges throughout Illinois while making major investments in public transportation. The projects are part of Governor Quinn's agenda to create jobs and drive Illinois' economy forward, while updating the state's transportation system. The upcoming highway, public transit, rail and airport projects will address critical infrastructure needs while making major transportation improvements throughout the state.

"Illinois is the transportation hub of the nation, and this program will ensure we have the modern infrastructure needed to compete with the world," Governor Quinn said. "This major investment in roads, bridges and public transportation will drive economic growth in every part of Illinois, and create tens of thousands of jobs."

The fiscal years 2014-2019 highway improvement program will improve 2,142 miles of highway, and replace or rehabilitate 517 bridges across Illinois. The plan includes $475 million to reconstruct the Circle Interchange in Chicago; $56 million to repair and upgrade I-74 in eastern Illinois; $83 million to resurface and replace bridges on I-57 in Marion, Pulaski, Union, Johnson and Williamson Counties; $76.2 million for a new Mississippi River bridge in Moline (in cooperation with the State of Iowa); and $40.4 million to resurface and repair bridges along Interstate 55 in Logan County.

"These projects will make our entire transportation system safer, easier, more efficient, and ready to accommodate our current and future needs," Secretary Schneider said. "But they come with another benefit - the fact that we will employ thousands of Illinois men and women, and support numerous Illinois businesses, while construction is underway."

For fiscal year 2014, the program has allocated $2.24 billion for road projects, $128 million for public transportation, $224 million for rail and $68 million for airport improvements. The total allocations for the multi-year program are $9.53 billion for roads, $1.81 billion for public transportation, $1.121 billion for rail and $159 million for airports.

The plan includes $7.2 billion in anticipated federal funds, $1.9 billion in state funds and the remainder from local and other sources. Additional bond authorization will be required to continue funding these transportation projects. The $580 million remaining for road and bridge projects from Governor Quinn's Illinois Jobs Now! capital construction program is also included in this multi-year program.

Projects that are part of the fiscal years 2014-2019 program will begin after July 1 this year. Governor Quinn and Secretary Schneider last month announced $486 million in road and bridge projects that will begin this spring is one of the largest early-season construction programs in the state's history.

Many of the projects announced today are funded through legislation Governor Quinn championed in his State of the State address earlier this year. Of those projects, IDOT is offering contractors a reimbursement rate of $10 an hour for hiring graduates of the Highway Construction Careers Training Program, an IDOT-sponsored initiative to encourage women and minorities to pursue careers in the transportation construction industry.

The multi-year transportation program builds upon the success of Governor Quinn's $31 billion Illinois Jobs Now! program, which is supporting more than 439,000 jobs over six years. It is the largest capital construction program in Illinois history, and is one of the largest capital construction programs in the nation. Prior to its passage by the Illinois General Assembly in 2009, Illinois had gone nearly a decade without a major program to address its critical infrastructure needs.

More information on the construction program may be found at http://www.dot.il.gov/opp/hip1419/hwyimprov.htm.