RRLEF Act of 2025
Sen. Duckworth Introduces Bill to Block Police Grants for Departments Using Problem Gun Dealers
The RRLEF Act of 2025 is currently in the early stages of the legislative process. It was recently introduced in the Senate and sent to the Committee on the Judiciary for review. There are no upcoming votes scheduled at this time.
Passage Likelihood
Legislative Progress
Key Points
- Police departments would lose eligibility for federal Byrne Justice Assistance Grants if they buy or sell firearms through dealers flagged for high rates of crime-linked gun sales. Departments must certify they will not do business with these flagged dealers to keep their funding.
From policy text
“the applicant and each grantee or subgrantee under the jurisdiction of the applicant shall not transfer a firearm to, or purchase a firearm from, a licensed dealer that is on the list of covered licensed dealers most recently published at the time of certification by the Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives”
View in full text - A gun dealer would be placed on the watch list if the ATF traced at least 25 firearms from their business to crime scenes within three years of the last known retail sale, in at least two of the prior three calendar years. This pattern is considered a strong indicator of potential gun trafficking.
From policy text
“the term `covered licensed dealer' means a licensed dealer with respect to whom, in not less than two of the three calendar years prior to the publication of the list under section 2(b)(2) of the RRLEF Act of 2025, the National Tracing Center of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives has traced to the firearms business of such licensed dealer, in such calendar years, not less than 25 firearms that had a short time-to-crime”
View in full text - The ATF would be required to publish a public list of flagged gun dealers on its website every year, starting within 120 days of enactment. This would give police departments, local governments, and the general public access to information about which dealers are most often linked to criminal activity.
From policy text
“make publicly available on the internet website of the Bureau a list of each covered licensed dealer”
View in full text - The ATF would also be required to notify state and local police if a firearm their agency previously transferred was later used or suspected of being used in a crime. This helps departments track where their retired weapons end up.
- The bill repeals several longstanding appropriations riders (dating back to 2003) that have blocked the ATF from sharing gun trace data with the public. These restrictions, often known as the Tiahrt Amendments, have limited transparency about how guns move from legal sales to criminal use.
Impact Analysis
Personal Impact
Milestones
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.
Introduced in Senate
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
Source Information
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
RRLEF Act of 2025
Data Sources
Sponsor
Cosponsors
(3)Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.