Clean Hands Firearm Procurement Act
The Clean Hands Firearm Procurement Act would require the Attorney General, via ATF’s National Tracing Center, to publicly identify “covered firearms dealers”—licensed dealers with a history of firearms traced in relation to crimes within a short time-to-crime period. The list must be published within 120 days after enactment and annually thereafter. Federal agencies would be barred from contracting with any dealer listed as covered for the current year or the two prior years, with a waiver option in national security cases requested by the Secretaries of Defense or Homeland Security. The waiver requires AG notification to key Judiciary Committee leaders. A dealer becomes “covered” if, in at least 2 of the prior 3 calendar years, ATF traced at least 25 firearms to that dealer with a time-to-crime of 3 years or less. The time-to-crime is the interval between a firearm’s last known retail sale and its recovery by law enforcement in relation to a crime. The prohibitions would take effect 180 days after enactment.
Key Points
- 1Publication of a publicly available list of “covered firearms dealers” by the ATF within 120 days of enactment and annually thereafter.
- 2Prohibition on federal contracts with any dealer listed as covered in the current year or in either of the two preceding years.
- 3Waiver authority: AG may waive the prohibition for national security reasons upon request from the Secretaries of Defense or Homeland Security; notice of any waiver must be provided to relevant Judiciary Committee leaders (classified notices allowed).
- 4Definition of a “covered firearms dealer”: a licensed dealer who, in at least 2 of the 3 years before the list publication, had 25 or more firearms traced to the dealer with a time-to-crime of 3 years or less.
- 5Time-to-crime defined as the period between the firearm’s last known retail sale and its recovery by law enforcement in connection with a crime.
- 6Effective date: The prohibition on contracting with covered dealers begins 180 days after enactment.