On the recordDecember 18, 2015
Today I rise to warn my colleagues and my constituents about the latest in a string of White House distractions that will not make Americans safer. This time the President is reportedly planning to unilaterally establish new restrictions on private gun transactions, and he may act while Congress is out of session. Mr. Speaker, the President knows he was elected to lead all Americans, even the ones he disagrees with. Thus, I call on him to answer the questions my House colleagues and I are sending to the White House on Monday: First, consider that Washington Post fact-checkers have confirmed their agreement with the sad truth that none of the recent months' and years' major shootings would have been prevented by stricter gun control laws. Why would the President think his proposal would be any different? Second, if this is good policy, why wasn't it included in the executive actions announced by the President in January 2013? Our remaining questions ask whether the President relied on appropriate data to choose this executive order and how it would be enforced. Mr. Speaker, this kind of secretive, unilateral action is not just wrong; it results in bad policy. I call on the President to answer our letter as quickly as possible. ____________________
