Brady Celebrates Increased Funding for Gun Violence Prevention Priorities, Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, in 2022 Omnibus

Washington, D.C., March 11, 2022 - Today, Brady applauds Congress for including needed funding for vital gun violence prevention programs in the fiscal year 2022 omnibus spending bill and new policies to address the epidemic of gun violence in America. Last night, the Senate passed this funding bill that the House passed less than 24 hours earlier. This bill includes more than $47 million in additional funding for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF); an additional $45 million for the National Instant Background Check System (NICS); $95 million for the ‘Fix NICS’ program; $25 million for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study gun violence; and, over $180 million for community violence intervention programs nationwide. Included in this bill is the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, which includes new protections for victims of domestic violence as well as funding to protect survivors and prevent further violence.

Brady President Kris Brown shared:

“This omnibus bill includes sweeping and needed funds for life-saving gun violence prevention programs, actions and research. It is arguably the strongest gun violence prevention bill passed in nearly two decades. Congress has increased funding for ATF to help ensure that the agency tasked with enforcing our nation’s gun laws can better do its job; additional designated funding for NICS to improve this vital database and its functioning; and funding for community violence intervention programs that will help to heal communities and address the root causes of violence.

All of these funds will help to prevent gun violence in all of its forms. They will save lives.

This bill also includes a long overdue reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. Though it is unreasonable and frankly unconscionable that this vital law has lapsed for three years, this bipartisan compromise bill helps to protect victims of domestic violence and includes new protections to stop domestic abusers and other prohibited individuals from obtaining firearms. While common-sense solutions such as ‘closing the boyfriend loophole’ were not included, the provisions added to this bill will help keep all Americans safe. Brady thanks all parties involved in negotiating and passing this reauthorization, but urges Congress to close the boyfriend loophole immediately to prevent unmarried partners and stalkers who physically abuse their partners from obtaining a firearm.”

About the Violence Against Women Act:

This Fiscal Year 2022 Omnibus includes a reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. Passed in 1994, the Violence Against Women Act marked a seachange in the way in which our nation thinks about intimate partner violence. Domestic violence and gun violence prevention are inextricably linked: About every 16 hours, a woman is shot and killed by a former or current partner. When there is a gun in a home with a history of domestic violence, the chance that a woman will be killed increases by 500 percent. The Violence Against Women Act includes crucial steps to remove guns from situations that are likely to become lethal and to ensure the safety and support of victims. This reauthorization includes new policies and funding to help prevent domestic abusers from obtaining firearms, including:

• The NICS Denial Notification Act, which notifies state and local authorities when a prohibited person attempts to purchase a firearm at a gun dealer;

• The ability of law enforcement to cross deputize local, state, and tribal law enforcement for the purposes of prosecuting denied individuals;

• An increase in federal resources to at least 75 jurisdictions which have high rates of domestic violence, but that lack resources to prosecute individuals prohibited by domestic violence convictions who attempt to purchase firearms;

• Strengthening of rape prevention and education efforts;

• Legal funding and increased support for marginalized communities, including $8 million for LGBTQ survivors and $100 million for programs supporting survivors in rural areas;

• $25 million to implement and expand culturally specific services for victims;

• $5 million in grants to implement trainings on trauma-informed, victim-centered approaches; and

• And $25 million for grants to tribal governments to prevent domestic violence.

It also restores policies from previous iterations of the Act, including:

• Legal protections and a legal assistance program for people who accuse their partners of intimate violence;

• Housing protections for survivors; and

• Improved criminal justice response to domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking.

About Funding Increases in this Bill:

The omnibus increases funding for needed gun violence prevention agencies and priorities, including:

• An additional $47,184,000 increase for ATF, a 3.2 percent increase

• An additional $44,961,631 for the NICS system, a 36 percent increase

• New funding for ‘FIX NICS’ totalling $95 million, a 7.9 percent increase

• New funds for community violence intervention programs and policies:

  • $50 million for grants funded through the Department of Justice;

  • $8 million for grants to help children exposed to violence;

  • $12.5 million through Project AWARE which can be used for community violence intervention;

  • $52 million in Quality Improvement Funding for Staff Recruitment and Retention and Trauma-Informed Care which can be directed to community violence solutions; and

  • Reporting by the Department of Justice on non-carceral, non-punitive approaches to addressing and reducing community violence

• Funds for the federal government to study gun violence:

  • $12.5 million for grants at the National Institutes for Health (NIH); and

  • $12.5 million for grants at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)