President Trump says he wants to improve background checks, but budget calls for cuts
Source: abc
By Jordyn Phelps Feb 20, 2018, 6:41 PM ET
While the White House has said President Donald Trump is “supportive of efforts” to update the nation’s background check system in the wake of the Florida high school shooting last week, the president's proposed budget for 2019 would actually roll back federal grants to help states in reporting to the national background check system.
Under the proposed FY 2019 budget, which the administration rolled out just two days before the deadly Parkland, Fla. shooting that left 17 people dead, proposed federal spending for the grants that help states improve the completeness of the records they report to the federal database would be reduced from $73 million to $61 million — a $12 million decrease.
An administration official insists that the president's budget fully funds the National Instant Criminal Background Check System and said the decrease in proposed funding is designed to match the level of spending requested by states that qualify for the grants.
"The FY 2019 President's Budget proposes to reduce funding for this program because the number of states eligible for NICS Act Record Improvement Program funding is not expected to increase and the $10.0 million request is sufficient to sustain the existing level of activity under this program," the official said, noting that the government only funded the states that were eligible and that some states have failed to produce required compliance plans related to reporting mental health records.
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Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/president-trump-improve-background-checks-budget-calls-cuts/story?id=53216967
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