{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/warren-durbin-castro-meeks-lead-50-democrats-in-challenging-trump-administrations-gun-industry-friendly-changes-to-trade-rules", "Warren, Durbin, Castro, Meeks, Lead 50+ Democrats in Challenging Trump Administration\u2019s Gun Industry-Friendly Changes to Trade Rules", "2025-10-28", "2025", "2025-10", "Democrat", "Senate", "MA", "Elizabeth Warren", "W000817", "www.warren.senate.gov", "warren", "https://www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "Warren, Durbin, Castro, Meeks, Lead 50+ Democrats in Challenging Trump Administration\u2019s Gun Industry-Friendly Changes to Trade Rules\n\n\u201cEliminating firearm export rules is a gift to violent cartels and drug traffickers responsible for the deaths of Americans and innocent civilians around the world\u2026 in order to protect \u2018hundreds of millions of dollars per year in export opportunities\u2019 for the gun industry.\u201d\n\nText of Letter (PDF)\n\nWashington, D.C. \u2014 U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, along with Representatives Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), Ranking Member of House Foreign Affairs Committee\u2019s Western Hemisphere Subcommittee, and Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), Ranking Member of House Foreign Affairs Committee, wrote to the Department of Commerce (Commerce) and the Department of State (State) pressing for answers about the Trump administration\u2019s elimination of a rule that was stemming the export of dangerous weapons to cartels and criminal organizations around the world.\n\n\u201cThis reversal increases the risk of criminal and terrorist organizations accessing assault weapons, heightening the threat of violence against law enforcement personnel and civilians,\u201d wrote the lawmakers.\n\nIn April 2024, the Biden administration issued a rule that strengthened controls on certain commercial exports of firearms, after finding that many exported guns were being \u201cmisused or diverted in a manner that adversely impacted U.S. national security and foreign policy interests.\u201d Last month, Commerce\u2019s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), which issues export licenses to foreign purchasers of American-made firearms, decided to eliminate the rule, largely because it \u201cnegatively affected the U.S. firearms industry.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe are concerned that BIS\u2019s decision to prioritize the profits of the U.S. firearms industry will undermine U.S. interests at home and abroad\u2026firearms from the United States have exacerbated homicide rates that drive northward migration,\u201d said the members.\n\nFor example, after a surge of weapons and ammunition into Ecuador from the United States and neighboring Peru, its homicide rate grew exponentially, making Ecuador one of the most violent nations in Latin America. The rise in crime potentially contributed to its status as one of the top countries of origin for individuals crossing the U.S. southern border without documentation.\n\nCommerce\u2019s move also takes away some of the most critical tools BIS had for ensuring that American firearms do not supply international criminal actors with dangerous weapons\u2014including a policy of denying gun exports to private buyers in the most dangerous countries unless they can demonstrate that the export would pose a particularly low risk.\n\nSecretary of State Marco Rubio recently acknowledged to Congress that the U.S. possesses an \u201cinterest\u201d in stopping the flow of \u201cweapons that are bought in the United States and shipped\u201d overseas that end up in the hands of cartels.\n\n\u201cWhile BIS and Republicans in Congress argue that rescission will benefit the firearm industry, doing so will also run directly counter to other core goals of this Administration,\u201d said the lawmakers.\n\nThe lawmakers argue that instead of reversing the rule, Commerce should have, if anything, strengthened the rule to ensure adequate oversight of governments buying weapons from the United States. and capped the number of exports to commercial buyers.\n\n\u201cEliminating firearm export rules is a gift to violent cartels and drug traffickers responsible for the deaths of Americans and innocent civilians around the world. [Ending the former rule] sacrifices some of this administration\u2019s top priorities in order to protect \u2018hundreds of millions of dollars per year in export opportunities\u2019 for the gun industry,\u201d the coalition concluded.\n\nThe lawmakers asked the Commerce and State Departments to respond by November 4, 2025 with information about the steps the departments took in the process of eliminating the rule, including whether the agencies met with firearm industry stakeholders regarding export controls, and more.\n\nMinority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), along with Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) joined in signing the letter.\n\nRepresentatives Gabe Amo (D-R.I.), Greg Casar (D-Texas), Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.), Judy Chu (D-Calif.), Danny Davis (D-Ill.), Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.), Dwight Evans (D-Pa.), Valerie Foushee (D-N.C.), Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.), Jesus Garc\u00eda (D-Ill.), Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas), Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.), Jonathan Jackson (D-Ill.), Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.), Julie Johnson (D-Texas), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.), Bill Keating (D-Mass.), Robin Kelly (D-Ill.), Timothy Kennedy (D-N.Y.), George Latimer (D-N.Y.), Summer Lee (D-Pa.), Lucy McBath (D-Ga.), Sarah McBride (D-Del.), Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), Grace Meng (D-N.Y.), Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.), Dave Min (D-Calif.), Joseph Morelle (D-N.Y.), Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), Johnny Olszewski (D-Md.), Brittany Pettersen (D-Colo.), Brad Schneider (D-Ill.), Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.), Suhas Subramanyan (D-Va.), Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), Dina Titus (D-Nev.), Norma Torres (D-Calif.), and Juan Vargas (D-Calif.), joined in signing the letter.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:32:54Z"]], "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.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/warren-durbin-castro-meeks-lead-50-democrats-in-challenging-trump-administrations-gun-industry-friendly-changes-to-trade-rules"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8238400332629681, "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"}