Congressional Democrats say the Republicans’ budget plan could threaten funding for gun violence research and prevention. Senators are expected to vote Friday on a "continuing resolution" that would largely extend current federal spending levels through September and avert a government shutdown. Democrats say the GOP’s proposal, which passed the House on Tuesday, could embolden the Trump administration to shortchange anti-violence efforts. This week, three Democratic House members and leaders from a half dozen violence prevention programs warned against the resolution and vowed to fight any attempt to divert funding from reducing gun violence, reports The Trace. “They think it’s a waste of money and time,” said Rep. Rep. Robin Kelly (D-IL). “I do not believe life-saving policies are a waste.”
Most at risk is the $25 million Congress has steered toward gun violence research every year since 2019. Split equally between the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the funding has not been written into budget bills themselves. Lawmakers include it in “explanatory text” meant to direct agencies on spending. The Republicans’ continuing resolution could invalidate the texts, allowing the Trump administration to spend that $25 million elsewhere. James Mercy, the former head of the CDC’s Division of Violence Prevention said, “The firearm research monies would be under threat if this CR is passed. At least $137.1 million in federal money has flowed to studying gun violence since 2020, accounting for 127 projects. The dollars have been a significant boon for the field after Congress in 2019 lifted a more than two-decade-old de facto ban on federal spending for gun violence research. Funding for gun violence research was already in flux before the budget uncertainty. In January, the National Institute of Justice sent email to researchers canceling all of its funding opportunities. The agency provides most federal funding for criminology and criminal justice research, including on gun violence. The NIH paused review panels for research grant awards, including reviews of gun violence research proposals. Without the review panels, research grants can’t be processed.