H.R. 4198 – Clean Hands Firearm Procurement Act

AI-Generated Summary

Updated November 23, 2025 at 11:43 PM UTC

The Clean Hands Firearm Procurement Act directs the Attorney General to identify and publicly list firearms dealers whose guns are frequently linked to crimes soon after sale. It then stops federal agencies from buying from those dealers for a three‑year window, unless a national‑security waiver is granted. The law aims to keep federal procurement away from dealers tied to rapid firearm misuse.

Key Provisions

Within 120 days of the law’s enactment and each year thereafter, the Attorney General must publish a public list of federally licensed firearms dealers who, in at least two of the past three years, had 25 or more firearms traced to them within three years of the sale (a “short time‑to‑crime”).
Federal agencies are barred from entering contracts with any dealer on that list for the current calendar year and the two preceding years.
The Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of Homeland Security can request a waiver for national‑security reasons; the Attorney General may grant it and must promptly notify the chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees (the notice can be classified).
The contract‑prohibition provisions take effect 180 days after the law is enacted.

Legislative Activity

Stay on top of the latest movement without scrolling through every action

1 earlier action

HouseIntro Referral Latest Action

Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, 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.

Judiciary Committee

June 26, 2025

View full timeline

HouseIntro Referral

Introduced in House

June 26, 2025

HouseIntro Referral

Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, 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.

Judiciary Committee

June 26, 2025

Bill Text

Latest available legislative text

Reading Mode

Raw Text PDF XML

Introduced in HouseIssued June 26, 2025

I

119th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 4198

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

June 26, 2025

Mr. Raskin introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, 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 require the Attorney General to make publicly available a list of federally licensed firearms dealers with a high number of short time-to-crime firearm traces, and to prohibit Federal departments and agencies from contracting with such dealers.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Clean Hands Firearm Procurement Act.

2.

Federal gun tracing notifications

Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Attorney General, acting through the Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, shall publish or make publicly available a list of covered firearms dealers.

3.

Prohibition on Federal contracts with certain Federal firearms dealers

(a)

Prohibition

A Federal agency may not enter into a contract with a licensed dealer that has been listed as a covered firearms dealer during the current calendar year or either of the preceding 2 calendar years.

(b)

Waiver authority

(1)

In general

Upon a request by the Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Attorney General may waive the applicability of subsection (a) to a contract, to protect the national security of the United States.

(2)

Notice

The Attorney General shall immediately notify the Chair and Ranking Minority Member of the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the Chair and Ranking Minority Member of the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate of any waiver granted under paragraph (1). Notice under this paragraph may be submitted in classified form.

(c)

Effective date

This section shall take effect 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act.

4.

Definitions

In this Act:

(1)

Covered firearms dealer

The term covered firearms dealer means a licensed dealer with respect to whom, during not less than 2 of the 3 calendar years before the publication of the applicable list under section 2, the National Tracing Center of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives has traced to the firearms business of the licensed dealer not less than 25 firearms with a time-to-crime of not more than 3 years.

(2)

Federal agency

The term Federal agency means a department, agency, office, or other establishment in the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the Government of the United States.

(3)

Firearm

The term firearm has the meaning given that term in section 921(a) of title 18, United States Code.

(4)

Licensed dealer

The term licensed dealer has the meaning given that term in section 921(a) of title 18, United States Code.

(5)

Time-to-crime

The term time-to-crime means, with respect to a firearm, the period between the date of the last known retail sale of the firearm and the date a law enforcement agency recovers the firearm as a result of an actual or suspected purchase, use, or possession of the firearm in, or that constitutes, a crime.