Stopping the Fraudulent Sales of Firearms Act

Mr. Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Takano for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill, H.R. 2911, the Fairness for Servicemembers and their Families Act of 2024.

I first thank Chairmen Bost and Luttrell and Ranking Members Takano and Pappas for working with me to get this bill to the floor. I also thank my partners in this effort, Congressman Don Bacon and Senator John Cornyn.

The Fairness for Servicemembers and their Families Act would help ensure that life insurance benefits for servicemembers and veterans account for changes in the economy. This legislation would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to periodically review and report on the maximum coverage available under the Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance and Veterans' Group Life Insurance. Accurate and reliable data will allow the VA to make necessary policy adjustments to ensure accurate payments.

I have the honor of representing Joint Base Lewis-McChord and tens of thousands of servicemembers and their families who call the South Sound home. Our servicemembers courageously put their lives on the line for their country, and it is our duty to reciprocate and help them. This means ensuring the well-being of their families and loved ones in the event of a tragedy.

Servicemembers' life insurance plans must keep pace with economic demands. A robust life insurance policy can provide a grieving family with the security they need to navigate the loss of their loved ones with dignity.

The brave men and women who sacrifice their lives deserve peace of mind, knowing that their families will be taken care of.

For nearly two decades, the maximum coverage of the Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance and Veterans' Group Life Insurance programs have been stagnant, even as the cost of housing, goods, and services rose, as they typically do over time.

This bill would ensure that these programs are reviewed periodically to verify that their value sufficiently reflects the contemporary Consumer Price Index.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues for their unwavering commitment to supporting veterans and their families and for prioritizing their care.

Finally, I will take a point of privilege to thank my Army fellow who worked in my office last year, Major Felix Gumbiner, for bringing this issue to my attention and for working with the offices of Congressman Bacon and Senator Cornyn to develop this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I look forward to the House passing the Fairness for Servicemembers and their Families Act of 2024 and for it to become the law of the land.

Madam President, I rise to introduce the Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience Act. This legislation would better equip and formalize the Economic Development Administration's role in post-disaster economic recovery.

EDA has a long history of supporting disaster recovery and resilience efforts and is uniquely positioned to coordinate Federal support due to its network of partners in impacted communities. EDA's role in disaster recovery is to facilitate the timely and effective delivery of Federal economic development assistance to support near- and long-term community economic recovery planning and project implementation, redevelopment, and resilience.

This bill would establish a dedicated Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience at EDA to coordinate the Agency's post-disaster economic recovery activities, create a disaster team for the deployment of individuals to carry out such activities after a disaster or emergency declaration, and require 100 Percent Federal cost share for major disaster recovery projects.

EDA currently serves as the coordinating Agency for the Economic Recovery Support Function, ERSF, under the Federal Government's National Disaster Recovery Framework, NDRF. In this capacity, EDA provides leadership, coordination, and oversight for primary and support Agencies for the provision of grants, loans, training, and other forms of assistance to support economic recovery efforts in disaster-impacted communities and regions.

Congress has relied on the Agency to implement economic recovery activities since the 1990s, providing a total of $3.2 billion in supplemental funding for EDA's disaster relief and economic resiliency efforts for natural disasters--most recently in calendar years 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2022. The Agency also received billion in additional funding tor COVID-19 pandemic recovery efforts.

Yet, EDA's role in disaster assistance has never been formalized. Having a dedicated bureau or office to direct and implement the economic recovery support function activities of the Agency could expedite deployment of resources and improve service delivery to communities by retaining institutional knowledge that can translate between communities, preserving leadership at the Agency, and deploying staff and funds more rapidly.

I thank Senator Boozman for introducing this important legislation with me in the Senate. I hope all of our colleagues will join us in supporting this bill for the long-term economic strength and resilience of our communities.

Madam President, I rise today to address a continuing concern: the online sale of firearms using deceptive and misleading means. It simply continues to be too easy for individuals to evade existing restrictions and buy firearms through online platforms. This behavior endangers us all.

Companies like Facebook have taken important steps by banning the sale of firearms on their websites. However, despite these efforts, the online sale of firearms continues to persist as a significant problem. Disturbingly, between April and June 2020 alone, Facebook had to remove a staggering 1.3 million pieces of content related to firearms from its platform.

One of the primary challenges we face is that sellers are employing new tactics to circumvent online sales restrictions for firearms. They resort to posting listings for firearms under deceptive names such as ``stickers'' to evade detection.

I am proud to once again introduce legislation that addresses this issue head-on. My Stopping the Fraudulent Sales of Firearms Act aims to establish a Federal crime for the sale of firearms online through fraudulent representations. Specifically, it targets the deceptive marketing of firearms as seemingly innocuous items like ``stickers.'' These practices undermine the safety and security of our communities and must be met with swift and robust consequences. I thank my colleagues Senators Booker, Blumenthal, and Menendez for joining me in this effort.

We must act decisively to address the persistent problem of uncontrolled online firearms sales and ensure that our laws keep pace with evolving practices. By passing this legislation, we can demonstrate our commitment to protecting the public and preventing firearms from falling into the wrong hands. I urge my colleagues to support this bill and join me in safeguarding our communities from the dangers posed by deceptive online firearm sales.

Madam President, I rise today to address a continuing concern: the online sale of firearms using deceptive and misleading means. It simply continues to be too easy for individuals to evade existing restrictions and buy firearms through online platforms. This behavior endangers us all.

Companies like Facebook have taken important steps by banning the sale of firearms on their websites. However, despite these efforts, the online sale of firearms continues to persist as a significant problem. Disturbingly, between April and June 2020 alone, Facebook had to remove a staggering 1.3 million pieces of content related to firearms from its platform.

One of the primary challenges we face is that sellers are employing new tactics to circumvent online sales restrictions for firearms. They resort to posting listings for firearms under deceptive names such as ``stickers'' to evade detection.

I am proud to once again introduce legislation that addresses this issue head-on. My Stopping the Fraudulent Sales of Firearms Act aims to establish a Federal crime for the sale of firearms online through fraudulent representations. Specifically, it targets the deceptive marketing of firearms as seemingly innocuous items like ``stickers.'' These practices undermine the safety and security of our communities and must be met with swift and robust consequences. I thank my colleagues Senators Booker, Blumenthal, and Menendez for joining me in this effort.

We must act decisively to address the persistent problem of uncontrolled online firearms sales and ensure that our laws keep pace with evolving practices. By passing this legislation, we can demonstrate our commitment to protecting the public and preventing firearms from falling into the wrong hands. I urge my colleagues to support this bill and join me in safeguarding our communities from the dangers posed by deceptive online firearm sales.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my support for H.R. 2911, the Fairness for Servicemembers and their Families Act of 2024, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, last Congress, we passed S. 2794 into law. This bill increased the maximum coverage amount under the Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance, or SGLI, program and the Veterans' Group Life Insurance, or VGLI, program from $400,000 to $500,000.

Prior to that legislation, however, those maximum coverage amounts had not increased since 2005, clearly failing to keep pace with inflation.

To ensure that we are not waiting another decade or more to improve this benefit for our servicemembers and veterans, my good friend, Representative Marilyn Strickland, has introduced this bill, which requires VA to periodically review coverage amounts every 5 years and to report to Congress what the level of benefits would be if adjusted for inflation over that period.

This will allow Congress to regularly make a more informed decision about whether or not these maximum coverage amounts should be increased.

Mr. Speaker, this is commonsense legislation that allows Congress to better do our part to support servicemembers, veterans, and their families, and I encourage my colleagues to support it.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. Strickland), my good friend who is the author of H.R. 2911. She serves on the Armed Services Committee and the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all of my colleagues to join me in passing H.R. 2911, the Fairness for Servicemembers and their Families Act of 2024, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.