House Dems renew push for funding gun violence research at CDC

BY JESSIE HELLMANN - 03/07/19 02:35 PM EST

House Democrats are poised to approve new funding for gun violence research in the face of what they say is a “public health emergency” killing thousands of Americans every year.

If successful, it would be the first time in nearly 20 years that Congress has funded gun violence research after an amendment passed in the 1990s discouraged federal agencies from studying the issue.

“We should not be afraid of research. Gun violence is a public health emergency,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee’s health subcommittee.

“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the nation's foremost public health agency. And yet, it has been absent from this research agenda for more than 20 years,” she said.

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