{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.lee.senate.gov/2025/9/lee-applauds-department-of-commerce-rescinding-biden-era-anti-firearm-rule", "Lee Applauds Department of Commerce Rescinding Biden-Era Anti-Firearm Rule", "2025-09-30", "2025", "2025-09", "Republican", "Senate", "UT", "Mike Lee", "L000577", "www.lee.senate.gov", "mikelee", "https://www.lee.senate.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 U.S. Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) applauded the Department of Commerce\u2019s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) today for rescinding a Biden-era anti-firearm rule that imposed onerous export controls on civilian firearms. Reversing this damaging policy will allow American firearm manufacturers to better compete in overseas markets.\n\n\u201cIn March, I partnered with 87 colleagues in the House and Senate asking the Department of Commerce to reverse Joe Biden\u2019s anti-firearm export rule and save American businesses,\u201d said Senator Mike Lee. \u201cThis rule hurt law-abiding gun manufacturers by severely limiting their ability to export firearms \u2013 but today, those regulations are gone. Thank you to President Trump and his cabinet for putting American businesses and our Second Amendment rights first.\u201d\n\n\u201cBIS strongly rejects the Biden Administration\u2019s war on the Second Amendment and law-abiding firearms users. With today\u2019s rule, BIS is restoring common sense to export controls and doing right by America\u2019s proud firearms industry, while also continuing to protect national security.\u201d \u2013 Jeffrey I. Kessler, Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security\n\nBackground\n\nIn March, Senator Lee urged the Department of Commerce to rescind this Biden-era rule in a letter with the support of 87 colleagues in the House and Senate. He fought against this rule throughout Biden\u2019s term by introducing the Protect American Gun Exporters Act and the STOP the BIS Rule Act to have it rescinded.\n\nThe now-defunct rule imposed a range of excessive and burdensome requirements, including:\n\nA \u201cpresumption of denial\u201d for civilian firearms exports to 36 supposedly \u201chigh-risk\u201d countries \u2013 effectively ceding overseas markets to foreign firearms manufacturers, with no benefit to national security.\n\nExport license requirements on sporting shotguns and optics to U.S. allies \u2013 despite no evidence of any national security risk.\n\nBureaucratic hurdles on firearms export licenses, such as extensive documentation requirements and short validity periods.\n\nToday\u2019s rule revokes these requirements and restores the export rules for civilian firearms that existed under the first Trump Administration. Under the new rules, exports of most pistols, rifles, and non-long-barrel shotguns will remain subject to a worldwide export license requirement. Long-barrel shotguns and most optics can be exported without a license to U.S. allies and certain partners. License application paperwork requirements for firearms will be streamlined and consistent with normal BIS practice. BIS and interagency partners will continue to screen firearms license applications to reduce the risk of weapons ending up in the hands of criminals.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:10:29Z"]], "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://www.lee.senate.gov/2025/9/lee-applauds-department-of-commerce-rescinding-biden-era-anti-firearm-rule"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.8933249413967133, "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"}