Biden to tout progress on executive actions to reduce gun violence

Biden (Fernando Vergara/AP)

Two months after the Senate failed to support the expansion of background checks for gun purchasers, Vice President Joe Biden is hosting an event at the White House Tuesday to show how the administration continued their efforts to reduce gun violence despite that failed vote.

Biden in a speech will discuss the administration's progress on 21 out of 23 executive actions to reduce gun violence, which were produced by a gun violence task force led by Biden following the deadly Dec. 14 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. The actions were issued by issued by President Barack Obama in January.

The actions taken include ending a ban on government research of gun violence, taking steps designed to increase reporting from states about potentially dangerous gun purchasers, and actions the White House believes enhance tracking of guns recovered in criminal investigations, according to a progress report on the actions to be released by the White House.

But the progress report will make clear that it is Congress whom the White House believes should take the next step to reduce gun violence.

"The Administration has more work to do to complete the remainder of the executive actions that the President announced in January" and work to continue "these important steps in the weeks and months ahead. But Congress must also act," the progress report reads. "Passing common-sense gun safety legislation, including expanding background checks and making gun trafficking a federal crime, remains the single most important step we could take to reduce gun violence."

The administration in its report repeated a line often used during the Senate's debate of expanded background checks: "A vast majority of the American people" support these steps.

"It is time for Congress to take action and get this done," the report reads.

A senior administration official said Monday that the actions "are in no way a replacement for concrete legislative action."

An official confirmed that background checks would be part of the vice president's speech Tuesday but declined to offer specifics.

Many stakeholders in the gun debate believed that the administration's best chance to get Congress to pass gun reform measures died with the failed vote for expanded background checks in April-- when Newtown was fresh in the minds of the public and politicians and many interest groups were active in the debate over gun violence.

But the administration and Senate Democratic leaders were unable to wrangle support from key Democrats from guns rights states in addition to select Republicans.

"It came down to politics," Obama said as he chastised Congress from the Rose Garden the night of the April 17 vote. "They caved to the pressure."

"All in all, this was a pretty shameful day in Washington," Obama then said.

Since then, the White House has held few public events related to gun violence other than Biden's recent event on mental illness.

Therefore, the public has seen little evidence of the public courtship the White House says it has continued with Congress.

When pressed about whether the administration is just as actively pursuing potential swing Senate Democrats on the issue of background checks with the same intensity as during the Senate's spring gun debate, the White House has mostly declined to offer any specifics, other than to confirm that conversations are ongoing.

A senior administration official once again Monday declined to release details about these types of meetings, saying that the White House remains "engaged with members of Congress" on the issue.

The two executive actions where progress has not been made, according to the report, are confirming a director to head the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (something up to Congress since the administration has already nominated Todd Jones, who has served as acting director), and hashing out mental health benefits with Health and Human Services.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/biden-tout-progress-executive-actions-reduce-gun-violence-114010300.html