H.R. 404House119th Congress (2025-2027)In Committee

Hearing Protection Act

AI-Generated Summary

Updated November 24, 2025 at 3:33 AM UTC

The Hearing Protection Act changes how firearm silencers (also called mufflers) are treated under federal law. It removes silencers from the definition of a firearm for tax purposes, subjects them to a 10% excise tax, and eliminates many federal registration and licensing requirements. The bill also blocks states from imposing taxes, registration, or record‑keeping rules on silencers and orders the destruction of existing National Firearms Act registration records for them.

Key Provisions

Amends the Internal Revenue Code so silencers are no longer counted as firearms, but adds them to the list of items taxed at 10 percent.
Requires anyone who acquires a silencer under the National Firearms Act to meet the Act’s registration and licensing rules, but treats the silencer itself as a separate taxable article.
Preempts state or local taxes (other than general sales/use taxes) and any state registration, marking, or record‑keeping requirements on silencers.
Orders the Attorney General to delete all existing federal registration records for silencers within one year of the law’s enactment.
Updates Title 18 definitions to clearly define “firearm silencer” and “firearm muffler” and requires serial numbers on imported or manufactured silencers, with a variance process if marking is impractical.

Legislative Activity

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1 earlier action

HouseIntro Referral Latest Action

Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Ways and Means Committee

January 15, 2025

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HouseIntro Referral

Introduced in House

January 15, 2025

HouseIntro Referral

Ways and Means Committee

January 15, 2025

Floor Debate

2 members

What members said about H.R. 404 on the floor

1 Republican1 Democrat

Rep. Monica De La CruzR-TX-15 · May 6, 2025

Under clause 7 of rule XII, sponsors were added to public bills and resolutions, as follows: H.R. 116: Ms. Boebert. H.R. 151: Ms. Van Duyne. H.R. 255: Mr. Gill of Texas, Mr. Self, and Ms. Crockett.…

Under clause 7 of rule XII, sponsors were added to public bills and resolutions, as follows:

H.R. 116: Ms. Boebert.

H.R. 151: Ms. Van Duyne.

H.R. 255: Mr. Gill of Texas, Mr. Self, and Ms. Crockett.

H.R. 404: Mr. Wied.

H.R. 429: Mr. Suozzi.

H.R. 479: Ms. Boebert.

H.R. 556: Mr. Wied.

H.R. 574: Mr. Van Drew, Mrs. Miller-Meeks, Mr. Stauber, and

Mr. Fitzpatrick.

H.R. 628: Ms. Davids of Kansas.

H.R. 659: Mr. Soto, Mrs. Ramirez, and Mr. Garcia of

California.

H.R. 740: Ms. Malliotakis and Mr. Kustoff.

H.R. 802: Ms. Bonamici.

H.R. 833: Mr. Hamadeh of Arizona, Mr. Moran, Mr. Barr, and

Mr. Burlison.

H.R. 842: Mr. Kiley of California and Ms. Stansbury.

H.R. 909: Mr. Subramanyam and Ms. Schakowsky.

H.R. 914: Ms. McDonald Rivet.

H.R. 942: Mr. Bresnahan and Ms. Davids of Kansas.

H.R. 956: Mr. Biggs of Arizona.

H.R. 1004: Ms. Elfreth and Ms. Kelly of Illinois.

H.R. 1024: Mr. Moran.

H.R. 1041: Mr. Ezell, Mr. Hurd of Colorado, Mr. Cline, and

Ms. De La Cruz.

H.R. 1086: Mrs. Miller-Meeks.

H.R. 1106: Mr. Himes.

H.R. 1151: Mr. Rose.

H.R. 1181: Ms. Fedorchak.

H.R. 1232: Mr. James and Mr. Pfluger.

H.R. 1241: Ms. Boebert.

H.R. 1262: Mrs. Hinson and Mr. Garamendi.

H.R. 1286: Mrs. Fischbach.

H.R. 1329: Mr. Burchett and Mr. McCaul.

H.R. 1330: Mr. Suozzi.

H.R. 1357: Mr. Morelle.

H.R. 1378: Mr. Rogers of Kentucky and Mr. Garbarino.

H.R. 1400: Ms. Perez.

H.R. 1415: Mr. Schmidt and Mr. Weber of Texas.

H.R. 1505: Mr. Min.

H.R. 1509: Ms. Houlahan, Mr. Carbajal, Ms. Lee of Florida,

and Mr. Fry.

H.R. 1521: Mr. Harder of California.

H.R. 1539: Mr. Bilirakis.

H.R. 1636: Mr. Thompson of Mississippi.

H.R. 1659: Ms. Budzinski.

H.R. 1676: Mr. Haridopolos.

H.R. 1682: Mr. James.

H.R. 1695: Mr. Rutherford.

H.R. 1709: Mr. Nunn of Iowa.

H.R. 1775: Ms. Stansbury.

H.R. 1822: Mr. Owens.

H.R. 1868: Ms. Williams of Georgia.

H.R. 1882: Mr. Gill of Texas.

H.R. 1909: Mr. Wittman.

H.R. 1918: Ms. McBride.

H.R. 2028: Ms. Van Duyne and Ms. McBride.

H.R. 2033: Ms. Malliotakis.

H.R. 2109: Mr. Costa.

H.R. 2126: Mr. Brecheen and Mr. James.

H.R. 2145: Ms. Davids of Kansas.

H.R. 2160: Mr. Schmidt.

H.R. 2189: Mr. Fry.

H.R. 2199: Ms. McBride.

H.R. 2230: Ms. Malliotakis.

H.R. 2253: Mr. Frost.

H.R. 2290: Mr. Garamendi.

H.R. 2294: Ms. McBride.

H.R. 2311: Mr. Jackson of Illinois.

H.R. 2315: Ms. Boebert.

H.R. 2355: Mr. Mann.

H.R. 2395: Ms. Hageman.

H.R. 2514: Ms. Budzinski.

H.R. 2531: Mr. Larson of Connecticut and Ms. Stansbury.

H.R. 2536: Mr. Riley of New York.

H.R. 2538: Ms. Stansbury and Mr. Graves.

H.R. 2550: Mr. Clyburn.

H.R. 2599: Mr. Issa.

H.R. 2623: Mr. Wied.

H.R. 2687: Ms. Pelosi.

H.R. 2705: Mr. Collins and Ms. Boebert.

H.R. 2729: Mr. Stauber, Mr. Rose, Mrs. Radewagen, and Mr.

Peters.

H.R. 2736: Mrs. Sykes.

H.R. 2753: Ms. Chu, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Ms. Goodlander,

Mr. Meeks, Mr. Courtney, Ms. Escobar, Ms. Dexter, and Mr.

Pocan.

H.R. 2761: Mr. Goldman of New York.

H.R. 2767: Ms. Norton.

H.R. 2781: Mr. Bishop.

H.R. 2788: Mr. Cohen.

H.R. 2841: Ms. Boebert.

H.R. 2904: Mrs. Cherfilus-McCormick.

H.R. 2941: Mr. Krishnamoorthi.

H.R. 2969: Mr. Cline.

H.R. 2979: Mr. Fitzpatrick.

H.R. 3033: Mr. Pfluger.

H.R. 3036: Mr. Takano.

H.R. 3043: Mr. McGuire.

H.R. 3048: Mr. Fitzpatrick.

H.R. 3098: Mr. Correa.

H.R. 3107: Mr. Bishop.

H.R. 3112: Ms. Perez, Mr. Peters, Mrs. Cherfilus-McCormick,

and Mr. Sherman.

H.R. 3128: Ms. Sewell.

H.R. 3131: Mr. Rogers of Kentucky.

H.R. 3142: Mr. Bacon.

H.R. 3177: Mr. Steube.

H.R. 3179: Ms. Van Duyne and Mr. Self.

H.R. 3195: Mr. Rogers of Alabama.

H.R. 3199: Ms. Omar, Ms. Meng, Mr. Boyle of Pennsylvania,

Mr. Mullin, and Mr. Sherman.

H.R. 3204: Mr. Neguse.

H.J. Res. 38: Mr. Steube.

H. Res. 155: Ms. Pingree.

H. Res. 166: Ms. Norton.

H. Res. 267: Mr. Davis of Illinois, Mr. Garcia of

California, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Ms. McClellan, Mr.

Bacon, Mr. Torres of New York, Mrs. Hayes, Ms. Ansari, Ms.

Tlaib, Ms. Stansbury, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Ms. Titus, Mr.

Soto, and Mr. Fields.

H. Res. 364: Mr. Thompson of Pennsylvania, Ms. Malliotakis,

Mr. Fallon, and Mr. Kustoff.

H. Res. 380: Mr. Pocan, Mr. Thanedar, Ms. McCollum, and Ms.

Tokuda.

Rep. Donald G. DavisD-NC-1 · May 13, 2025

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize National Salvation Army Week and to honor an organization that has been a pillar of support and hope in communities all across this country. Since its founding in…

Bill Text

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Introduced in HouseIssued January 15, 2025

119th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 404

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

January 15, 2025

Mr. Cline (for himself, Mr. Pfluger, Mr. Estes, Mr. Moore of West Virginia, Mr. Bean of Florida, Ms. Tenney, Mr. Weber of Texas, Mr. Moore of Alabama, Mr. Nehls, Mr. Owens, Mr. Thompson of Pennsylvania, Mr. Wittman, Mr. Hudson, Mrs. Luna, Mrs. Cammack, Mr. Carter of Georgia, Mr. Perry, Mr. Bost, Mr. Bergman, Mr. Finstad, Mr. Collins, Mr. Graves, Mr. Fleischmann, Mr. Fulcher, Mr. Bilirakis, Mr. McGuire, Mr. Aderholt, Mr. McDowell, Mr. Harris of Maryland, Mr. Burchett, Mr. Kustoff, Mr. Timmons, Mr. Loudermilk, Mr. Crank, Mr. Griffith, Mr. Hern of Oklahoma, Mr. Womack, Mr. Babin, Ms. Maloy, and Mr. Comer) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

A BILL

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to remove silencers from the definition of firearms, and for other purposes.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Hearing Protection Act.

Equal treatment of silencers and firearms

(a)

In general

Section 5845(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking (7) any silencer and all that follows through ; and (8) and inserting and (7).

(b)

Effective date

The amendment made by this section shall apply to calendar quarters beginning more than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.

Treatment of certain silencers

Section 5841 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following:

(f)

Firearm silencers

A person acquiring or possessing a firearm silencer in accordance with chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, shall be treated as meeting any registration and licensing requirements of the National Firearms Act with respect to such silencer.

Preemption of certain State laws in relation to firearm silencers

Section 927 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, a law of a State or a political subdivision of a State that imposes a tax, other than a generally applicable sales or use tax, on making, transferring, using, possessing, or transporting a firearm silencer in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, or imposes a marking, recordkeeping or registration requirement with respect to such a firearm silencer, shall have no force or effect..

Destruction of records

Not later than 365 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall destroy any registration of a silencer maintained in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record pursuant to section 5841 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, any application to transfer filed under section 5812 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that identifies the transferee of a silencer, and any application to make filed under section 5822 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that identifies the maker of a silencer.

Amendments to title 18, United States Code

Title 18, United States Code, is amended—

(1)

in section 921(a), by striking paragraph (25) and inserting the following:

(25)

The terms firearm silencer and firearm muffler mean—

(A)

any device designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended—

(i)

to silence, muffle, or diminish the auditory report of a portable firearm; and

(ii)

to be attached to a portable firearm, directly or through a mount, adaptor, or other device that is not a firearm silencer or firearm muffler; or

(B)

the outer tube or other single part of any device that—

(i)

provides the primary housing or is the primary structure for internal sound-reduction components designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to silence, muffle, or diminish the auditory report of a portable firearm; and

(ii)

attaches to a portable firearm, directly or through a mount, adaptor, or other device that is not a firearm silencer or firearm muffler.

;

(2)

in section 922(b)—

(A)

in paragraph (1), by striking shotgun or rifle the first place it appears and inserting shotgun, rifle, firearm silencer or firearm muffler; and

(B)

in paragraph (3), by striking rifle or shotgun and inserting shotgun, rifle, firearm silencer or firearm muffler; and

(3)

in section 923(i)—

(A)

by striking Licensed and inserting the following:

(1)

In the case of a firearm other than a firearm silencer or firearm muffler, licensed

; and

(B)

by adding at the end the following:

(2)

In the case of a firearm silencer or firearm muffler, licensed importers and licensed manufacturers shall identify by means of a serial number engraved or cast on the outer tube or other single part that provides the primary housing or primary structure of the firearm silencer or firearm muffler, in such manner as the Attorney General shall by regulations prescribe, each firearm silencer or firearm muffler imported or manufactured by such importer or manufacturer, except that, if marking the outer tube or other single part that provides the primary housing or primary structure is impractical, licensed importers or licensed manufacturers shall submit a request for a marking variance to the Attorney General. The Attorney General shall grant such a request except on showing good cause that marking the firearm silencer or firearm muffler as requested would not further the purposes of this chapter.

Imposition of tax on firearm silencers or firearm mufflers

(a)

In general

Section 4181 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end of the list relating to Articles taxable at 10 percent the following:

Firearm silencers or firearm mufflers.

(b)

Firearm silencers; firearm mufflers

Section 4181 of such Code is amended by adding at the end the following:

For purposes of this part, the terms firearm silencer and firearm muffler mean any device for silencing, muffling, or diminishing the report of a portable firearm.

(c)

Conforming amendments

(1)

Section 4181 of such Code is amended by striking other than pistols and revolvers and inserting other than articles taxable at 10 percent under this section.

(2)

Section 4182(b) of such Code is amended by striking firearms, pistols, revolvers, shells, and cartridges and inserting articles described in section 4181 and.

(3)

Section 4182(c)(1) of such Code is amended by striking or firearm and inserting firearm, firearm silencer, or firearm muffler,.

(d)

Effective date

The amendments made by this section shall apply to articles sold by the manufacturer, producer, or importer in any calendar quarter beginning more than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.

(e)

In general

Section 4181 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end of the list relating to Articles taxable at 10 percent the following: