What to Know in Washington: Biden to Tighten Gun Export Rules
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To curb the use of US-made civilian guns in crimes and human rights abuses abroad, the Biden administration will require exporters to better vet their customers and tighten sales to 36 countries deemed “high-risk” for illicit diversion of semiautomatic firearms, according to people briefed on the plan.
The Commerce Department is set today to release a 150-page regulation — the most sweeping in decades — that aims to make it easier for federal regulators to scrutinize exports of the most dangerous weapons by creating distinct trade categories for semiautomatic firearms and the components used to create them.
The rules cut the length of export licenses from four years to one and give the State Department greater authority to block sales. Additionally, the rules will require gun exporters to collect copies of passports or national ID cards from gun dealers and other customers who are overseas.
The plan resulted from the Commerce Department’s review of its support for the gun industry — a process that began after a Bloomberg News investigation last year linked record civilian gun exports to higher rates of gun crime in countries including Guatemala, Brazil, and Canada, David Kocieniewski reports. Read More
BIDEN’S AGENDA
- Biden will leave Queens, N.Y. around 12:30 p.m. to head back to the White House, where he’ll arrive around 1:45 p.m.
CONGRESS’ SCHEDULE
- The House and Senate return next week.
- For next week’s highlights, read BGOV’s Congress Tracker.
Happening on the Hill
OPENAI is expanding its LOBBYING, policy, and messaging teams, as it works to shape government rules for AI, and to win converts for its tools from Capitol Hill to far-flung foreign countries. Read More
Two bills to foster and REGULATE AI will be marked up by the Senate Commerce Committee next Wednesday. One measure would establish standards to support AI research and development, while the other would create a national research resource. Read More
People, Politics, and Power
The SUPREME COURT suggested it might drag out Donald Trump’s claim of immunity from prosecution, an outcome that could doom any chance of a pre-election trial on charges of trying to stay in power illegally. Read More
- During proceedings, Justice Neil Gorsuch suggested future presidents might be incentivized to pardon themselves before leaving office if their successors can criminally prosecute them for acts while in office. Read More
Actor and film producer MICHAEL DOUGLAS hosted a fundraiser for President Joe Biden last night. Biden is courting actors and business leaders in Westchester County, N.Y., as his reelection campaign seeks to pad its cash advantage over Trump for the November election. Read More
What Else We’re Watching
Defense Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN is set to announce as much as $6 billion to bankroll long-term contracts to provide Ukraine with weapons such as Patriot missiles and drones. Read More
Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN has begun talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, as the world’s biggest economies spar in high-stakes meetings spanning trade complaints to Beijing’s continued support for Russia. Read More
Turkish President RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN will meet with Biden at the White House on May 9, according to people familiar with the matter, as they seek ways to boost defense and trade ties. Read More
The White House’s defense against DRUGMAKERS’ suits against Medicare drug price negotiations has drawn reinforcements from officials and academics defending the program. The pharmaceutical industry has yet to win a court decision on the issue. Read More
Four of seven ships trapped in BALTIMORE’s harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed last month have cleared the wreckage and are en route to their destinations. Read More
To contact the reporters on this story: Brandon Lee in Washington at blee@bgov.com; Jeannie Baumann in Washington at jbaumann@bloombergindustry.com
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Kayla Sharpe at ksharpe@bloombergindustry.com
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