HR 152 · 118th Congress 2023–2025, ended

Hearing Protection Act

Introduced Jan 9, 2023 Originated House Sponsor Jeff Duncan R-SC

Latest action · Dec 17, 2024 Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.

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 9, 2023
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 70

Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jan 9, 2023 to Nov 21, 2024; 52 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.

Seat	Cosponsor		Signed on
R-GA	A. Drew Ferguson IV	Original	Jan 9, 2023
R-WV	Alexander X. Mooney	Original	Jan 9, 2023
R-AZ	Andy Biggs	Original	Jan 9, 2023
R-MD	Andy Harris	Original	Jan 9, 2023
R-TX	August Pfluger	Original	Jan 9, 2023
R-GA	Austin Scott	Original	Jan 9, 2023
R-VA	Ben Cline	Original	Jan 9, 2023
R-MI	Bill Huizenga	Original	Jan 9, 2023
R-MN	Brad Finstad	Original	Jan 9, 2023
R-KY	Brett Guthrie	Original	Jan 9, 2023
R-TN	Charles J. "Chuck" Fleischmann	Original	Jan 9, 2023
R-TX	Chip Roy	Original	Jan 9, 2023
R-NC	Dan Bishop	Original	Jan 9, 2023
R-FL	Daniel Webster	Original	Jan 9, 2023
R-CA	Darrell Issa	Original	Jan 9, 2023
R-TN	David Kustoff	Original	Jan 9, 2023
R-AZ	Debbie Lesko	Original	Jan 9, 2023
R-TN	Diana Harshbarger	Original	Jan 9, 2023
R-GA	Earl L. "Buddy" Carter	Original	Jan 9, 2023
R-AL	Gary J. Palmer	Original	Jan 9, 2023
R-PA	Glenn Thompson	Original	Jan 9, 2023
R-NC	Gregory F. Murphy	Original	Jan 9, 2023
R-PA	Guy Reschenthaler	Original	Jan 9, 2023
R-VA	H. Morgan Griffith	Original	Jan 9, 2023
R-MI	Jack Bergman	Original	Jan 9, 2023
R-KS	Jake LaTurner	Original	Jan 9, 2023
R-KY	James Comer	Original	Jan 9, 2023
R-AL	Jerry L. Carl	Original	Jan 9, 2023
R-OH	Jim Jordan	Original	Jan 9, 2023
R-SC	Joe Wilson	Original	Jan 9, 2023
R-OK	Josh Brecheen	Original	Jan 9, 2023
R-FL	Kat Cammack	Original	Jan 9, 2023
R-ND	Kelly Armstrong	Original	Jan 9, 2023
R-CO	Ken Buck	Original	Jan 9, 2023
R-OK	Kevin Hern	Original	Jan 9, 2023
R-FL	Matt Gaetz	Original	Jan 9, 2023
R-TX	Michael Cloud	Original	Jan 9, 2023
R-AZ	Paul A. Gosar	Original	Jan 9, 2023
R-TX	Pete Sessions	Original	Jan 9, 2023
R-MN	Pete Stauber	Original	Jan 9, 2023
R-SC	Ralph Norman	Original	Jan 9, 2023
R-TX	Randy K. Weber, Sr.	Original	Jan 9, 2023
R-NC	Richard Hudson	Original	Jan 9, 2023
R-AL	Robert B. Aderholt	Original	Jan 9, 2023
R-VA	Robert J. Wittman	Original	Jan 9, 2023
R-KS	Ron Estes	Original	Jan 9, 2023
R-ID	Russ Fulcher	Original	Jan 9, 2023
R-PA	Scott Perry	Original	Jan 9, 2023
R-AR	Steve Womack	Original	Jan 9, 2023
R-TN	Tim Burchett	Original	Jan 9, 2023
R-CA	Tom McClintock	Original	Jan 9, 2023
R-SC	William R. Timmons IV	Original	Jan 9, 2023
R-GA	Barry Loudermilk		Jan 10, 2023
R-FL	Brian J. Mast		Jan 10, 2023
R-CO	Lauren Boebert		Jan 10, 2023
R-TN	Mark E. Green		Jan 10, 2023
R-MI	John R. Moolenaar		Jan 11, 2023
R-IL	Mike Bost		Jan 12, 2023
R-NE	Adrian Smith		Jan 31, 2023
R-FL	Neal P. Dunn		Feb 24, 2023
R-FL	Anna Paulina Luna		Mar 7, 2023
R-TX	Monica De La Cruz		Mar 21, 2023
R-WI	Glenn Grothman		Apr 6, 2023
R-TX	John R. Carter		Apr 13, 2023
R-TX	Morgan Luttrell		May 17, 2023
R-KY	Andy Barr		Nov 28, 2023
R-MT	Matthew M. Rosendale, Sr.		Nov 28, 2023
R-GA	Andrew S. Clyde		Jan 25, 2024
R-WY	Harriet M. Hageman		Jan 29, 2024
R-TX	Jodey C. Arrington		Nov 21, 2024

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 9, 2023
	Health Subcommittee	Referred Dec 17, 2024
House	Judiciary Committee	Referred Jan 9, 2023

Actions 3

Everything that happened, newest first.

Dec 17, 2024Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
Jan 9, 2023Introduced in House
Jan 9, 2023Referred 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.

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. Single Subject Statement: This legislation amends the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to remove silencers from the definition of firearms.

The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 169, no. 7, January 9, 2023, page H111.

CRS reports 1

Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.

Cite it 1

Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.

Product	Title	Kind	Published
IF12173	Firearms and Ammunition Excise Tax (FAET)	Resource	Feb 6, 2026

Related bills 2

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

Bill	Title	Relationship	Latest action
HR 95	Hearing Protection Act	Reintroduction of	Mar 1, 2021
S 401	Hearing Protection Act	Related bill	Feb 14, 2023

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 9, 2023Introduced 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.