Here’s a recap of what Republicans achieved on the House Floor this week:

Defending the Right to Bear Arms ✅

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is pushing outrageous regulations in a power grab that would criminalize firearm ownership for millions of hardworking Americans. Again, the Biden Administration is weaponizing the federal government against everyday Americans, this time with an unconstitutional attack on the Second Amendment.

Under the Biden ATF’s new rule, pistols with a stabilizing brace attachment would be reclassified as short-barreled rifles, and gun owners who fail to register their pistols with stabilizing braces with the ATF could face 10 years in jail and fines up to $10,000.

Rep. Andrew Clyde’s legislation, H.J. Res. 44, would block the Biden Administration’s unconstitutional pistol brace rule and protect Americans’ Second Amendment rights. 

"Every day, millions of Americans — including many service-disabled veterans — rely on stabilizing braces to exercise their Second Amendment freedoms. Yet through the ATF’s rule, the Biden Administration is attempting to circumvent Congress’ sole legislative authority by using executive fiat to turn these law-abiding gun owners into criminals for simply attaching this beneficial brace to their firearm. By passing H.J.Res. 44, the House has sent a resounding message to both the judicial system and the nation that it firmly rejects the ATF’s unconstitutional rule and executive overreach, unapologetically defends service-disabled veterans’ unalienable right to keep and bear arms, and refuses to back down in the fight to protect all Americans’ Second Amendment liberties,” said Rep. Andrew Clyde. “I thank Rep. Richard Hudson for co-leading this vital effort with me, and I applaud our colleagues for joining us in taking a stand against the ATF’s brazen overreach and unlawful pistol brace rule. It’s now time for the Senate to follow suit by swiftly passing H.J.Res. 44 — sending this essential legislation to the White House and forcing the President to choose between defending one of our greatest natural rights or intentionally attempting to disarm our nation and dismantle our Second Amendment freedoms."

What Members Said:

“Make no mistake: the ATF’s rule is nothing short than that of an assault on our Second Amendment rights. Our Constitution does not grant the ATF the authority to unilaterally redefine what laws constitute a firearm, because lawmaking power rests with the elected representatives of the American people," said Rep. Eric Burlison. “This reclassification is arbitrary, it bucks a decade of the ATF’s own precedent, it is an assault on our Second Amendment, and it threatens to turn millions – tens of millions – of law-abiding Americans into criminals overnight.”
 
Rep. Mike Ezell emphasized how H.J. Res 44 defends the Second Amendment. 
 

---

Denouncing Biden's Veto of Legislation Supporting Police Officers and Protecting Our Communities ✅

The D.C. Council’s Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022 gives more power to anti-police activists, allows individual police officers to be targeted by protestors, and strips officers of collective bargaining rights regarding discipline. 

Under the D.C. Council’s emergency legislative powers, these harmful policies have been in place since 2020; meanwhile, the D.C. police numbers have dropped by 500 and crime has risen dramatically. 

Rep. Andrew Clyde’s legislation, H.J. Res. 42, expresses Congressional disapproval of the D.C. Council’s harmful anti-police Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022, and prevents the Act from going into effect. 

Despite both the House and the Senate passing Rep. Clyde's resolution with considerable bipartisan support, President Biden refused to stand with our police and vetoed this legislation. 

“By vetoing my commonsense and bipartisan resolution to block the D.C. Council’s anti-police law, President Biden shamelessly betrayed our men and women in blue. While I’m disappointed that our effort to overturn the President’s severely misguided veto fell short, I remain committed to improving public safety for all Americans in our nation’s capital,” said Rep. Andrew Clyde.

What Members Said:

“The Metropolitan Police Department continues to face retention and recruitment challenges. Crime levels are still higher in 2023 compared to the same time in 2022. Total crime is up 27 percent. Violent crime is up 16 percent. Homicide is up 19 percent. Motor vehicle theft is up a staggering 118 percent. This is unacceptable. Most notably, as of June 7, D.C. hit a concerning marker: there have been 100 murders in DC this year. According to the D.C. police union, this is the earliest point in a calendar year that the city has reached this marker since 2003,” said Rep. Jamie Comer. "Congress has a duty to oversee the nation's capital and ensure its safety for all residents and visitors. It's time for this body to stand up to the criminals."
 
Majority Whip Tom Emmer highlighted what police groups were saying about the importance of overturning the D.C. Council's anti-police bill.
 

---

Protecting Your Freedom to Have a Gas Stove ✅

In January, Commissioner Richard Trumka, Jr., with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) proposed a ban on gas stoves, calling them a “hidden hazard” and saying “any option is on the table.”

Gas stoves are, on average, 10 to 30 percent less expensive than electric stoves, making them a more affordable alternative as American families suffer under Biden’s inflation. Banning them would cost struggling families the most. Additionally, it would seriously impact small independent restaurants, driving up costs and potentially putting them out of business.

Rep. Kelly Armstrong’s legislation, H.R. 1615, the Gas Stove Protection and Freedom Act, blocks the CPSC from issuing a radical rule to ban gas stoves and bars the use of federal funds to regulate gas stoves as a banned hazardous product.

“The Biden administration is intent on weaponizing every aspect of the federal government to achieve its ideological goals,” said Rep. Kelly Armstrong. “Consumer protection should be about safety, not used as a veiled push to eliminate fossil fuels and the millions of jobs they support. Americans should decide if gas stoves are right for their families, not the federal government. I’m glad to see this commonsense bill to rein in the administration pass the House.”

But the CPSC isn’t the only agency going after gas stoves – Biden’s Department of Energy (DOE) has joined the crusade, as well. In February, the DOE revealed that the proposed conservation rules would remove at least half of U.S. stove models from stores.

Americans should be the ones deciding what they use in their kitchen, not out-of-touch government bureaucrats.

H.R. 1640, the Save Our Gas Stoves Act, introduced by Rep. Debbie Lesko, prohibits the Department of Energy from imposing their proposed rule to ban gas stoves by amending the Energy Policy and Conservation Act and clarifying that the DOE cannot issue standards that effectively ban a product based on the fuel it uses.

“The Biden Administration has waged a war on Americans’ gas stoves. I introduced the Save Our Gas Stoves Act to block the Department of Energy’s radical, out-of-touch rule that eliminates stoves and features that are popular with consumers. I am grateful for my colleagues’ support on this important legislation to save gas stoves and protect Americans’ consumer choice,” said Rep. Debbie Lesko. 

What Members Said:

“This harebrained scheme is about more government control, more control over the lives of Americans, more control over what we do, and ultimately how we think. What's the next domino to fall? Mr. Speaker, if this were to happen, American families would be crushed by high electricity bills and costly appliances in the name of climate activism,” said Rep. Virginia Foxx. “We must push back against more government control in our lives.” 
 
Rep. Glenn Grothman pointed out how efforts to ban gas stoves harms American households.
 
Rep. Diana Harshbarger highlighted how banning gas stoves increase costs on hardworking families.
 

---

Reining In the Administrative State ✅

Federal agencies continue to expand their authority by issuing rules with the force of law – even though it is the constitutional purview of Congress to legislate, not federal agencies. By allowing unelected bureaucrats at these agencies to make laws, the power of the American public to hold their government accountable is completely undermined.

To check this overreach of power, the Congressional Review Act of 1996 (CRA) allows Congress to disapprove of agency rules, effectively vetoing them; however, only 20 agency rules have been overturned by Congress under the CRA – meaning harmful major rules can stay in place without going through a rigorous and transparent legislative process.

Rep. Kat Cammack’s legislation, H.R. 277, the REINS Act of 2023, requires congressional approval before “major rules” – such as those with an annual effect on the economy of at least $100 million or those that cause a major increase in prices – can take effect, instead of expressing disapproval after. 

“I’m thrilled to see the REINS Act pass the House,” said Rep. Kat Cammack. “The REINS Act is the single largest regulatory reform in decades and will save the American people trillions each year in compliance costs. It’s long past time we limit the rampant executive overreach that makes up the fourth branch of government and rein in the nameless, faceless bureaucrats in basements across Washington, D.C. I’m grateful to my colleagues for their support of this effort in seeing this bill past the finish line.”

What Members Said:

“President Biden and his administration have made a constant habit of sidestepping Congress, the people's house, to enact their radical agenda, costing the American people billions of dollars in their hard-earned money. Let's take a look at the list: President Biden's student loan bailout, shutting down the Keystone Pipeline, banning oil and gas leases, mandating climate risk disclosures, and a radical ESG rule that jeopardizes Americans retirement returns – all done without the consent of Congress. In year one of the Biden presidency, the administration finalized more than $200 billion in new regulatory costs – $200 billion. Even worse, in 2022, the administration proposed more than $1 trillion in new regulations, and we wonder why we're fighting inflation. The REINS Act will put an end to the insanity,” said Rep. Rick Allen.
 
Rep. Don Bacon emphasized how the REINS Act fights executive overreach.