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Congressional leaders have reached a deal to resume federal funding of research into gun violence after a ban of more than 20 years.
It is anticipated that $25 million in research funds will be split evenly between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health. The deal is part of a funding bill due to be passed this week.
“The epidemic of gun violence is a public health emergency. Yet, for more than two decades, Congress has failed to provide any meaningful reforms,” said Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education.
The funding will “help us better understand the correlation between domestic violence and gun violence, how Americans can more safely store guns, and how we can intervene to reduce suicide by firearms,” DeLauro said in a statement.
Federal agencies were blocked from using taxpayer funds to advocate for gun control by the so-called Dickey Amendment in 1996. Democrats successfully changed the wording of the bill last year to clarify that federal agencies can conduct gun violence research. Democrats had hoped to repeal the amendment completely but failed to gain Republican support.
“Taking action should have never taken more than 20 years. The significance of this achievement cannot be understated,” said DeLauro.
