WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) released the following statement after the U.S. House of Representatives passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which includes a provision he is pushing for inclusion in the Senate’s version of the legislation to deregulate firearms suppressors by eliminating the unconstitutional suppressor tax and registration requirements under the National Firearms Act:

“Firearm silencers should not be subject to overregulation and unconstitutional taxes that hamstring Texans’ freedoms and pocketbooks,” said Sen. Cornyn. “I’m proud to see the House stand up for law-abiding gun owners, eliminate senseless red tape, and proudly defend our Second Amendment rights, and I will continue to fight for this as the Senate works to pass President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill.”

Background:

Suppressors are currently subject to additional regulatory burdens under the National Firearms Act (NFA). Sen. Cornyn cosponsored the Hearing Protection Act to remove suppressors from regulation under the NFA and replace the burdensome federal transfer process with an instantaneous National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) background check.  This would make the purchasing and transfer process for suppressors similar to the process for rifles and shotguns.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a reconciliation package today that includes a provisions from the Hearing Protection Act to strike the registration requirement for firearm silencers and makes the manufacturer tax on silencers $0. Specifically, it amends Sec. 112029 to strike the registration requirement for firearm silencers by removing silencers from the list of firearms in the tax code.