Passed
216 Yea201 Nay13 Not voting1/2 required
HR-1041-119
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Sponsored by Mike Bost (R-IL)
What it does
This bill would prohibit the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) from sending a veteran's personal information to the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) solely because the VA has assigned that veteran a fiduciary — a person appointed to manage their benefits. It would also require the VA to notify the Attorney General within 30 days that all past fiduciary-based NICS referrals, dating back to November 1993, no longer have a valid legal basis. Additionally, the bill would clarify that a VA determination of mental incompetence alone is not sufficient to classify a veteran as a "mental defective" under federal firearms law.
Who benefits
Veterans who have been assigned VA fiduciaries and were previously reported to NICS, potentially restoring their ability to purchase firearms. Veterans with cognitive or mental health conditions who manage their own benefits but feared future NICS reporting. Veterans' advocacy groups focused on civil liberties and due process. Firearms retailers who may see increased eligible buyers among the veteran population. Attorneys and legal advocates who assist veterans in restoring firearms rights.
Who is hurt
Family members or caregivers of veterans with serious mental health conditions who may have concerns about firearms access. Mental health professionals and organizations that argue fiduciary assignment can reflect genuine safety risks. Law enforcement agencies that rely on NICS data for background checks and may see their records become less complete. Survivors of gun violence who advocate for broader NICS reporting. VA administrative staff who would need to process retroactive notifications to the Attorney General.
Supporters argue
Supporters argue that assigning a fiduciary is an administrative benefits decision — not a judicial finding of dangerousness — and that using it to strip a constitutional right conflates two entirely separate determinations. They contend that under Hamdi v. Rumsfeld (2004) and basic due process principles, the government cannot deprive individuals of rights without meaningful judicial process, and that veterans deserve the same procedural protections as any other citizen. They further note that an estimated 170,000+ veterans were reported to NICS under this practice, many of whom have never been found dangerous by any court.
Opponents argue
Opponents argue that fiduciary assignment — which occurs precisely because the VA has determined a veteran cannot manage their own financial affairs due to mental incapacity — is a meaningful indicator of potential risk, and that removing these records from NICS creates a gap in the background check system. They contend that the bill's judicial-order requirement sets a high bar that many at-risk individuals will never reach, and that the retroactive removal of over 170,000 records from NICS could allow individuals with documented mental incapacity to legally purchase firearms before any court has reviewed their individual circumstances.
Constitutional context
The Fifth Amendment's Due Process Clause is directly relevant: the bill responds to arguments that administrative VA fiduciary determinations, made without a judicial hearing, are constitutionally insufficient to deprive veterans of a constitutional right. Additionally, post-Bruen (2022), any firearms regulation must be grounded in the historical tradition of firearms regulation, and the constitutionality of mental-health-based disqualifications that lack judicial process is an area of active litigation.
Checks and balances
Congress would restrict the Executive Branch (specifically the VA and DOJ) from sharing information through NICS without a judicial order; the judiciary gains a gatekeeping role, as only a judge or magistrate's finding of dangerousness would authorize the reporting.
Historical precedent
The NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 (passed after the Virginia Tech shooting) expanded federal reporting requirements for mental health adjudications, and the Obama administration's 2016 Social Security Administration rule applied a similar fiduciary-based reporting mechanism to SSA beneficiaries — a rule Congress repealed in 2017 under the Congressional Review Act.
Passed