Feb 4, 2021 Press Release
Washington, DC – As 2020 marked the deadliest year for gun violence in the last 20 years, Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) and Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) today reintroduced the
Gun Violence Prevention Research Act to fund research at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on firearms safety and gun violence prevention. The legislation would authorize $50 million in funding each fiscal year for the next five years at the CDC to study gun violence. According to the Gun Violence Archive, at least 43,495 people lost their lives due to gun violence in 2020 as firearms sales have surged during the coronavirus pandemic.
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Congresswoman Maloney and Senator Markey Applaud Inclusion of $25 Million in Gun Violence Research Funding in Omnibus Funding Package Dec 22, 2020 Press Release
With funding for federal gun violence prevention research at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) beginning for the first time this past fall, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (NY-12) and Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) applauded the inclusion of $25 million in the 2021 Fiscal Year package to continue that research. Last year, the lawmakers were also successful in securing $25 million in the year-end spending bill to fund research on firearms safety and gun violence prevention, the first time Congress approved federal funding for the study of gun violence since an appropriations rider called the Dickey Amendment was put on the books in 1996.
for injury prevention and control at the cdc may be used to advocate or promote gun control, end quote. so that s what some say is leading to some of the hesitancy around funding gun violence prevention research. so what is expected? what do we know? what is expected to happen from this point on? so, that s still up in the air. but i think it s an interesting debate to watch, especially because if lawmakers do decide to pointedly direct funding towards gun violence prevention research, that would be making a huge statement. and that would be the first time, since the dickey amendment was passed in 1996. now, the house will want to do that, but how plausible is it that it s going to get through this republican senate and get the signature of the president? that s what we re all waiting to see because it s a very split issue. and i know that, you know, democrats are really pushing for this. and some have even put out the idea of repealing the amendment. kind of, you know, taking
amendment, they kind of clarified it s okay for agencies to look into gun violence prevention research. so that was made clear. the only thing is, since those discussions, not much has happened. and one argument that lawmakers and medical professionals who are really pushing for this have made, out of the top 30 leading causes of death, gun violence is the least researched and the second to least funded when it comes to research. so those are the arguments. do we have a gauge for what the trump administration has or will do? that s still up in the air. one thing that also playing a role in this. last year in general, the cdc experienced some funding cuts. so, we know that s what happened last year. so we re waiting to see what happens this year. you mentioned quickly the dickey amendment. that s really at the center of this conversation. talk more about that. that amendment was passed in 1996, and it states, i ll quote, none of the funds made available