HR 95 · 117th Congress 2021–2023, ended

Hearing Protection Act

Introduced Jan 4, 2021 Originated House Sponsor Jeff Duncan R-SC

Latest action · Mar 1, 2021 Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.

Progress

Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.

IntroducedJan 4, 2021
Passed HouseNot reached
Passed SenateNot reached
To the PresidentNot reached
Became lawNot reached

Summary

Hearing Protection Act

This bill removes silencers from the definition of firearms for purposes of the National Firearms Act. It also treats persons acquiring or possessing a firearm silencer as meeting any registration and licensing requirements of such Act.

The Department of Justice must destroy certain records relating to the registration, transfer, or making of a silencer.

The bill also revises the definitions of firearm silencer and firearm muffler under the federal criminal code and includes such items in the 10% excise tax category.

Cosponsors 96

Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jan 4, 2021 to Nov 15, 2022; 36 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.

Seat	Cosponsor		Signed on
R-GA	A. Drew Ferguson IV	Original	Jan 4, 2021
R-WV	Alexander X. Mooney	Original	Jan 4, 2021
R-KY	Andy Barr	Original	Jan 4, 2021
R-AZ	Andy Biggs	Original	Jan 4, 2021
R-GA	Austin Scott	Original	Jan 4, 2021
R-OH	Bill Johnson	Original	Jan 4, 2021
R-KY	Brett Guthrie	Original	Jan 4, 2021
R-TN	Charles J. "Chuck" Fleischmann	Original	Jan 4, 2021
R-TN	David Kustoff	Original	Jan 4, 2021
R-AK	Don Young	Original	Jan 4, 2021
R-CO	Doug Lamborn	Original	Jan 4, 2021
R-AL	Gary J. Palmer	Original	Jan 4, 2021
R-PA	Guy Reschenthaler	Original	Jan 4, 2021
R-VA	H. Morgan Griffith	Original	Jan 4, 2021
R-MI	Jack Bergman	Original	Jan 4, 2021
R-KY	James Comer	Original	Jan 4, 2021
R-OH	Jim Jordan	Original	Jan 4, 2021
R-GA	Jody B. Hice	Original	Jan 4, 2021
R-PA	John Joyce	Original	Jan 4, 2021
R-CO	Ken Buck	Original	Jan 4, 2021
R-GA	Marjorie Taylor Greene	Original	Jan 4, 2021
R-OK	Markwayne Mullin	Original	Jan 4, 2021
R-FL	Matt Gaetz	Original	Jan 4, 2021
R-TX	Michael Cloud	Original	Jan 4, 2021
R-AL	Mo Brooks	Original	Jan 4, 2021
R-AZ	Paul A. Gosar	Original	Jan 4, 2021
R-SC	Ralph Norman	Original	Jan 4, 2021
R-TX	Randy K. Weber, Sr.	Original	Jan 4, 2021
R-TX	Roger Williams	Original	Jan 4, 2021
R-AR	Steve Womack	Original	Jan 4, 2021
R-NC	Ted Budd	Original	Jan 4, 2021
R-WI	Thomas P. Tiffany	Original	Jan 4, 2021
R-MN	Tom Emmer	Original	Jan 4, 2021
R-SC	Tom Rice	Original	Jan 4, 2021
R-FL	W. Gregory Steube	Original	Jan 4, 2021
R-SC	William R. Timmons IV	Original	Jan 4, 2021
R-WA	Cathy McMorris Rodgers		Jan 13, 2021
R-NE	Don Bacon		Jan 13, 2021
R-WY	Liz Cheney		Jan 13, 2021
R-PA	Scott Perry		Jan 13, 2021
R-TN	Diana Harshbarger		Feb 2, 2021
R-OK	Frank D. Lucas		Feb 2, 2021
R-IN	Jackie Walorski		Feb 2, 2021
R-LA	Mike Johnson		Feb 2, 2021
R-NC	Richard Hudson		Feb 2, 2021
R-AL	Robert B. Aderholt		Feb 2, 2021
R-KS	Ron Estes		Feb 2, 2021
R-GA	Andrew S. Clyde		Feb 25, 2021
R-VA	Ben Cline		Feb 25, 2021
R-NC	Dan Bishop		Feb 25, 2021
R-TX	John R. Carter		Feb 25, 2021
R-MO	Vicky Hartzler		Feb 25, 2021
R-NE	Adrian Smith		Mar 9, 2021
R-IA	Ashley Hinson		Mar 9, 2021
R-FL	Kat Cammack		Mar 9, 2021
R-GA	Rick W. Allen		Mar 9, 2021
R-NC	Gregory F. Murphy		Mar 16, 2021
R-MI	Tim Walberg		Mar 16, 2021
R-PA	Glenn Thompson		May 13, 2021
R-MO	Jason Smith		May 13, 2021
R-MO	Sam Graves		May 17, 2021
R-UT	Chris Stewart		May 18, 2021
R-MN	Michelle Fischbach		Sep 10, 2021
R-MN	Pete Stauber		Oct 19, 2021
R-TN	Tim Burchett		Oct 19, 2021
R-TX	August Pfluger		Oct 25, 2021
R-SC	Joe Wilson		Nov 30, 2021
R-OH	Bob Gibbs		Dec 7, 2021
R-WV	David B. McKinley		Feb 2, 2022
R-AR	J. French Hill		Mar 28, 2022
R-IN	Larry Bucshon		Mar 28, 2022
R-ID	Russ Fulcher		Mar 28, 2022
R-FL	Daniel Webster		Mar 29, 2022
D-NJ	Jefferson Van Drew		Mar 29, 2022
R-NC	Madison Cawthorn		Mar 29, 2022
R-TX	Pete Sessions		Mar 29, 2022
R-VA	Robert J. Wittman		Mar 29, 2022
R-CA	Tom McClintock		Mar 29, 2022
R-NM	Yvette Herrell		Mar 29, 2022
R-GA	Barry Loudermilk		Mar 30, 2022
R-MO	Billy Long		Mar 30, 2022
R-MO	Blaine Luetkemeyer		Mar 30, 2022
R-CA	Darrell Issa		Mar 30, 2022
R-IN	Greg Pence		Mar 30, 2022
R-CO	Lauren Boebert		Mar 30, 2022
R-TX	Louie Gohmert		Mar 30, 2022
R-PA	Fred Keller		Mar 31, 2022
R-KS	Jake LaTurner		Mar 31, 2022
R-MD	Andy Harris		Apr 4, 2022
R-UT	John R. Curtis		Apr 7, 2022
R-TX	Chip Roy		Apr 26, 2022
R-AZ	Debbie Lesko		Apr 26, 2022
R-AL	Jerry L. Carl		May 11, 2022
R-ND	Kelly Armstrong		Jun 7, 2022
R-OK	Kevin Hern		Aug 12, 2022
R-FL	Scott Franklin		Nov 15, 2022

Committees 2

Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.

Chamber	Committee	What it did
House	Ways and Means Committee	Referred Jan 4, 2021
	Health Subcommittee	Referred Jan 4, 2021
House	Judiciary Committee	Referred Jan 4, 2021
	Crime and Federal Government Surveillance Subcommittee	Referred Mar 1, 2021

Actions 4

Everything that happened, newest first.

Mar 1, 2021Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.
Jan 4, 2021Introduced in House
Jan 4, 2021Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Jan 4, 2021Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.

Research

What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.

Constitutional authority

Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant to the following: With this Resolution, Congress is defending the 2nd Amendment prerogative to keep and bear arms. The legislation protects the hearing of those who choose to pursue their rights under the 2nd Amendment without undue government burden. Also, Article I, Section 8, Clause 1 gives Congress the right to lay and collect taxes.

The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 167, no. 2, January 4, 2021, page H53.

Related bills 3

Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.

Bill	Title	Relationship	Latest action
HR 152	Hearing Protection Act	Reintroduced Bill	Dec 17, 2024
HR 155	Hearing Protection Act	Reintroduction of	Jan 3, 2019
S 2050	Hearing Protection Act	Related bill	Jun 15, 2021

Titles 2

Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.

Official Title as Introduced: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to remove silencers from the definition of firearms, and for other purposes.
Short Title(s) as Introduced: Hearing Protection Act

Subjects

Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Taxation.

Text 1

Each version as it was printed, newest first.

Jan 4, 2021Introduced in House

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Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.