of the ?niteh ?tatw Washington, ME 20515 June 22, 2016 Dear Mr. Speaker: As the worst mass shooting in our nation's history has underscored, our country cannot afford to stand by while this Congress continues to be paralyzed by politics. We urge you to lead the House into action and work with both sides of the aisle to pass commonsense solutions to keep American children and families safe. There is broad agreement among Americans greater than 90 percent by some measures that expanding background checks for ?rearms purchases is a reasonable measure for this Congress to pass. An overwhelming majority also agree that we should enact safety measures that keep guns out of the hands of suspected terrorists. The question before us is, what is this Congress waiting for? Over the last 12 years, gun-related crimes claimed more American lives than AIDS, war, and illegal drug overdoses combined. Since Newtown, tens of thousands of lives have been lost to this deadly crisis. The number of bills that have been debated and passed by this Congress to prevent such deaths is zero. Together we represent families who are worried and frustrated - millions of Americans who are fed up with the inaction in Congress. There is no doubt that our path to solutions will be arduous. but we have to agree that inaction can no longer be a choice that this Congress makes. We cannot enact solutions for families at home if the Speaker will not even allow a debate. Therefore, we stand with thousands of brokenhearted families who have not been served by this Congress, and millions more who are counting on us to find the moral courage to do the right thing. We stand together in our refusal to sit by while this Congress abdicates its fundamental responsibility to protect American families from harm. We urge you to keep the House in session until we have robust debate and votes on expanding background checks and banning the sale of ?rearms to suspected terrorists. Until then, we are resolved and committed to speaking out for victims, survivors, and families at home who deserve a vote. We are prepared to continue standing on the House floor whenever the House is in session to assist you in bringing these bills to a vote. Sincerely, MIA kat 'ne Clark ber of Congress Membe Congress PRINTED 0N RECYCLED PAPER Gregoryms Peter Welch Member of Congress Member of Congress WWA Joy?A. Yarm?fh Chellie Pingree Member of Congress Member of Congress (mm 8 acey E. skett Kathy Casto! Member of ongress Member ongress 324:4 Rosa L. DeLauro Member of Congress Member of Congress mug/L Bo nie Watson CoTenEn Member of Congress Member of Congress . arson Michael E. Capuano ber of Congress Member of Congress ?5 Eobin L. Kelly Bill Pascrell Jr. Member of Congress Member of Congress yce eatty a mber of Congress 7% 71.7 h?ghj? Kennedy Iu/ Mern er of Congress O. 0,th Member of Congress