The "Debt-Ceiling" And Your Guns

Recently, some have made exaggerated and incorrect claims regarding the debt-ceiling bill that has been debated and agreed to by Congress.  NRA felt it important to set the record straight.

First, NRA has taken no position in regards to the debt bill because it has no direct impact on firearms, gun owners' rights, hunting or any of the issues that NRA as a single-issue organization, is concerned with.  NRA neither endorses nor opposes this bill.

The debt bill does set up a special Select Joint Committee and provides for special consideration of the proposal generated by that committee.  Both bodies are required to take up the bill, without amendment, and vote on it by Dec. 23, 2011. While the bill does allow the Senate to use a cloture vote to end debate early, the deadline in the bill for a full Senate vote precludes the use of a filibuster to prohibit an up or down vote on the proposal.

While the Select Joint Committee could consider extraneous matters or include unrelated provisions, such as gun control legislation, it is highly unlikely that this would occur, let alone that such provisions would be enacted

Article I of the U.S. Constitution sets forth explicit requirements for legislative action by Congress, and the Supreme Court has held that these requirements cannot be altered by legislation. The special debt committee has no more powers than any other committee, which is to recommend and advance a proposal for further consideration.  The only special treatment is to provide for expedited consideration of the proposal the committee approves, so that both bodies have to actually vote on the proposal.

While any legislative committee can add any provision on any subject to any proposal under consideration, it is highly unlikely that it would, because doing so does not serve the end goals of either party in Congress.  The legislation is clear that "[t]he goal of the joint committee shall be to reduce the deficit by at least $1,500,000,000,000 over the period of fiscal years 2012 to 2021." The Joint Select Committee's appointment process, enforcement mechanisms (should the committee fail to produce recommendations that are adopted), and the limited time it has to accomplish its tasks all work against the idea that the committee will pursue irrelevant and contentious policy objectives.

In short, pushing gun control legislation in this special committee would not help either party achieve its budgetary goals, none of which are materially advanced by gun control legislation. Adding a gun control provision to the proposal would simply ensure that the proposal is voted down by a coalition of pro-gun members of both parties.