On the recordJuly 14, 2016
It is sad that people are leaving this Chamber with much unfinished business, such as action on Zika, threats to drinking water, and the most important for me is the failure to take any action to stem the epidemic of gun violence that takes three to four Americans' lives every hour. Whether it is from domestic violence, mass shootings like in Orlando or Dallas, suicide, there are multiple causes, but there are things we can do to make a difference. There ought to be no more anonymous gun purchases. We need universal background checks. People who are too dangerous to buy a plane ticket should not be able to buy an assault weapon. And the outrageous prohibition that Congress has on doing research from the CDC on gun violence ought to be abolished. These provisions are overwhelmingly supported by the American public and, indeed, gun owners themselves. There is no excuse for us leaving early today, for us to be gone tomorrow, for us to be gone for the next 7 weeks. Maybe the people who are getting out of town should just be gone from the next Congress. ____________________
