{"format":1,"id":"117-hr-1446","congress":117,"number":"H.R. 1446","kind":"bill","group":"bills","title":"Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2021","title_source":"Short Title(s) as Passed House","official_title":"To amend chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, to strengthen the background check procedures to be followed before a Federal firearms licensee may transfer a firearm to a person who is not such a licensee.","titles":[{"type":"Official Title as Introduced","title":"To amend chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, to strengthen the background check procedures to be followed before a Federal firearms licensee may transfer a firearm to a person who is not such a licensee."},{"type":"Short Title(s) from PCS (Placed on Senate Calendar) bill text","title":"Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2021"},{"type":"Display Title","title":"Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2021"},{"type":"Short Title(s) as Introduced","title":"Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2021"},{"type":"Short Title(s) as Passed House","title":"Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2021"}],"outcome":"passed_house","law_number":null,"introduced":"2021-03-01","chambers":{"house":{"status":"roll_call","date":"2021-03-11","vote":{"id":"117-2021-h77","question":"On Passage","title":"Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2021","result":"Passed","yea":219,"nay":210,"present":0,"not_voting":1,"source":"https://clerk.house.gov/evs/2021/roll077.xml"}},"senate":{"status":"na","date":null,"vote":null}},"president":{"status":"na","date":null},"vice_president_tie_breaker":null,"latest_action":{"text":"Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 391.","date":"2022-05-25"},"nominees":null,"amendments":[{"number":"H.Amdt. 29","sponsor":"Rep. Nadler, Jerrold [D-NY-10]","purpose":"Amendments en bloc comprised of amendments numbered 1, 2, 3, and 4, printed in Part D of of House Report 117-10.","result":"Agreed to","date":"2021-03-10","yea":225,"nay":202,"present":0,"not_voting":3,"source":"https://clerk.house.gov/evs/2021/roll073.xml"}],"other_votes":[{"chamber":"house","date":"2021-03-10","question":"On Agreeing to the Amendment","title":"","result":"Agreed to","yea":225,"nay":202,"present":0,"not_voting":3,"kind":"amendment","source":"https://clerk.house.gov/evs/2021/roll073.xml"},{"chamber":"house","date":"2021-03-11","question":"On Motion to Recommit","title":"Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2021","result":"Failed","yea":206,"nay":212,"present":0,"not_voting":12,"kind":"procedural","source":"https://clerk.house.gov/evs/2021/roll076.xml"}],"crs_summary":{"date":"2021-03-11","stage":"Passed House","blocks":[{"k":"h","t":"Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2021"},{"k":"p","t":"(Sec. 2) This bill revises background check requirements applicable to proposed firearm transfers from a federal firearms licensee (e.g., a licensed gun dealer) to an unlicensed person."},{"k":"p","t":"Specifically, it increases the amount of time, from 3 business days to a minimum of 10 business days, that a federal firearms licensee must wait to receive a completed background check prior to transferring a firearm to an unlicensed person. (This type of transaction is often referred to as a default proceed transaction.)"},{"k":"p","t":"If a submitted background check remains incomplete after 10 business days, then the prospective purchaser may submit a petition for a final firearms eligibility determination. If an additional 10 days elapse without a final determination, then the federal firearms licensee may transfer the firearm to the prospective purchaser."},{"k":"p","t":"(Sec. 3) The Government Accountability Office must report on the extent to which the changes have prevented firearms transfers to prohibited persons."},{"k":"p","t":"(Sec. 4) The Federal Bureau of Investigation must report on the number of petitions it receives for final federal firearms determinations."},{"k":"p","t":"(Sec. 5) The Department of Justice, in consultation with the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence and Firearms, must report on further amendments to the background check process that would likely reduce the risk of death or great bodily harm to victims of domestic violence, domestic abuse, dating partner violence, sexual assault, and stalking."}],"words":231},"summary":{"main_subject":{"text":"Amends the federal law on background checks so that a licensed firearms dealer may transfer a firearm to an unlicensed person without a completed check only after a 10-business-day wait and a petition process, and requires related reports.","cites":[{"label":"Sec. 2","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1446/text/eh#H40B89BB5A9A14913BC0ECDCE2111046A"}]},"core_areas":["Conditions for firearm transfers when a background check is not completed","Petition for review process run by the Attorney General","Reports on background check results and petitions"],"what_it_does":[{"text":"Amends 18 U.S.C. 922(t) to let a licensee transfer a firearm without a completed check once 10 business days have passed and the buyer has filed a petition for review, then another 10 business days have passed with no notice of a violation.","cite":{"label":"Sec. 2","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1446/text/eh#H40B89BB5A9A14913BC0ECDCE2111046A"}},{"text":"Requires the Attorney General to prescribe the petition form, make it available electronically, give written notice of receipt to the petitioner and licensee, and respond to petitions on an expedited basis.","cite":{"label":"Sec. 2","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1446/text/eh#H40B89BB5A9A14913BC0ECDCE2111046A"}},{"text":"Lets a licensee rely on a notice received after 3 business days that a transfer would not violate subsection (g) or (n) for the longer of 25 more calendar days or 30 calendar days after the initial contact.","cite":{"label":"Sec. 2","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1446/text/eh#H40B89BB5A9A14913BC0ECDCE2111046A"}},{"text":"Requires the Comptroller General to report to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees after the 1-year, 3-year and 5-year periods on how far the petition provisions have prevented transfers to prohibited persons.","cite":{"label":"Sec. 3","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1446/text/eh#HBDC5A96E7FFE49A6A4715A17977EA775"}},{"text":"Requires the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to publish an annual report, disaggregated by State, on petitions received and on petitioners found ineligible during or after the 10-day period.","cite":{"label":"Sec. 4","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1446/text/eh#H42E085589D0C46B69566DF4978FD80A0"}},{"text":"Requires the Attorney General, in consultation with the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence and Firearms, to report to Congress within 150 days on the Act's effect on victim safety and on whether further amendments would reduce risk of death or great bodily harm.","cite":{"label":"Sec. 5","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1446/text/eh#H907F9B1048194F0AB572C071E34569C7"}}],"unexpected":[],"version":{"type":"Engrossed in House","date":"2021-03-11","rule":"passed","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1446/text/eh"},"current":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","approved":"2026-10-15","approved_by":"checks"},"sources":{"congress_gov":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1446","text":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1446/text"},"card":{"image":"card/item/117-hr-1446.png","v":"10bf4ac9ffd3","alt":"Votes on Record. H.R. 1446, 117th Congress: Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2021. House: 219 Yea, 210 Nay. Outcome: Passed House, 11 Mar 2021."}}