SENATORS CALL ON SENATE LEADERSHIP TO BOLSTER BACKGROUND CHECK PROGRAM
WASHINGTON, DC] – With gun sales spiking since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) urged Senate leadership and appropriators to include funding in the next relief package to address the dangerous backlog of background checks. The Senators called for an additional $20 million for the National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP) to ensure states and local governments are able to maintain accurate records and keep guns out of the hands of abusers and others seeking firearms illegally. “Prohibited purchasers put our communities in imminent danger,” wrote the Senators to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-AL), and Senate Appropriations Vice…