Both the House and Senate are not in session today.
As expected, the Senate left town without reaching a deal on gun-violence legislation, disappointing Democrats who had hoped to issue a joint statement with Republicans on an initial framework. Democrats say they are “very close” to an agreement with Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas), the lead Republican negotiator, but Democratic and Republican staff still need to hammer out differences over language. Two of the sticking points in the negotiations are whether to mandate requirements for the safe storage of firearms at home and how to define commercial sellers of firearms. Republicans want to create tax incentives for the sale of safe storage equipment while Democrats want to also add mandates for safe storage. Another tricky issue is how to handle people who make a business of selling firearms online but are not required to conduct background checks because they don’t hold federal firearm licenses. Gun-control advocates view this as a loophole in the law requiring firearm dealers to conduct background checks.
When the Senate reconvenes on Monday, June 13th at 3:00 P.M. it will resume work on H.R.3967, Honoring our PACT Act.
The House will reconvene on Monday, June 13th at 6:30 P.M. for votes.
