{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://tsongas.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=49&itemid=1636", "On House Floor, Tsongas urges Republicans to allow vote to prevent terror watch list suspects from buying guns", "2015-12-09", "2015", "2015-12", "Democrat", "House", "MA", "Niki Tsongas", "T000465", "tsongas.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, DC December 9, 2015  Congresswoman Niki Tsongas spoke today on the House Floor strongly urging Republican leadership to allow Congress to vote to prevent individuals on the FBIs terror watch list from buying guns. The Congresswoman raised this issue during debate on a separate bill because she believes that Congress must urgently address the scourge of gun violence. Several pieces of legislation have been proposed to close the loophole that allows people who are linked to terrorist activities to purchase a gun, including a bipartisan bill introduced by Republican Congressman Peter King. Congresswoman Tsongas is a cosponsor of Congressman Kings bill. Congresswoman Tsongas is a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee. Click for video of the Congresswomans remarks regarding Rep. Kings bill.\r\n\r\n\r\n\t  \r\n\tBelow please find the text of the Congresswomans remarks on Rep. Kings bill from the House Floor on December 9, 2015, as prepared for delivery:\r\n\r\n\tBefore I reserve my time, I want to note that as we approach the end of the year, there are critical issues that we have yet to address. Funding the federal government, extending tax breaks, and yes, addressing the scourge of gun violence in this country are just a few that deserve our urgent attention  instead of debating this bill, which the President will likely veto. For example, Representative Kings bill, H.R. 1076, the Denying Firearms and Explosives to Dangerous Terrorists Act, is a bipartisan and commonsense bill that would make our communities safer. Since 2004, more than 2,000 suspected terrorists have legally purchased weapons in the U.S. That is an alarming figure. Thats why I am a cosponsor of Republican Congressman Peter Kings bill, which would prevent people who are linked to terrorist activities from buying a gun  a commonsense bill that has support from both Republicans and Democrats and would protect our communities. It is pretty simple, if the federal government doesn't allow you to board an airplane, it shouldn't allow you to buy a gun. Ive joined my Democratic colleagues in filing a discharge petition to force a vote on this bill after House Republicans have repeatedly voted to prevent the House from even debating Congressman Kings bill. We should be doing everything we can to keep deadly weapons out of the hands of suspected terrorists. It is just common sense to allow a vote on this. I urge the Republican leadership to allow a vote on this bill. I reserve the balance of my time.\r\n\r\n\t####", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://tsongas.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=49&itemid=1636"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.1809760946780443, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}