THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS

After being reintroduced as a freestanding bill in February of 1993, the Brady Bill was once again attached to a larger legislative effort in a move that was supported by The Speaker of the House, Tom Foley, Representative Jack Brooks, who chaired the House Judiciary Committee, and the Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Joseph Biden. These members of Democratic leadership in Congress had hoped that by attaching the Brady Bill to more comprehensive legislation, they could prevent another direct confrontation with the National Rifle Association, which had killed the Brady Bill in 1988.

By June of 1993, this legislative effort had become bogged down in committee and the Brady Bill was no closer to passage than it had been before the State of the Union Address. In the Clinton administration, concern began to grow that the Brady Bill was headed to the same fate it had suffered while attached to an omnibus crime bill in 1990.

News Clippings — *This news clipping, from the New York Times, was seen by President Clinton and his staff on June 4th, 1993. Notice the handwritten note that stresses a “need to push Brady”.*

Acting quickly, Howard Paster, the President’s Director for Legislative Affairs, suggested that the Clinton administration inform Speaker Foley, Chairman Brooks, and Chairman Biden that the administration preferred to “move quickly on the Brady Bill” rather than wait for the larger legislative effort to clear committee. Citing that the Brady Bill enjoyed “very broad national support”, Paster urged President Clinton to ask the lawmakers for an independent Brady Bill.

Memo — *Read the full June 11th, 1993 decision memo from Howard Paster to President Clinton. (pg. 36)*

Despite Paster’s prodding, one of the lawmakers, Representative Jack Brooks, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, was uninterested in severing the Brady Bill from the wider bill. At a meeting between Paster and Representative Brooks, the Congressman refused to budge and told Paster that “Brady must be done in the context of an overall crime bill”. After their meeting, Paster delivered the news to President Clinton in another memo stating that “it probably is not practical to move independently on Brady at this time”.

Facing an impasse and needing to find a way to publicly reaffirm President Clinton’s support for the Brady Bill, advisors in the Office of Legislative Affairs began to consider the idea of an Oval Office Meeting between President Clinton, Jim Brady, and Sarah Brady. However, Bruce Reed, the Director of the Domestic Policy Council, opposed such a move and believed that the larger bill was “98% complete”. At his urging, the Clinton administration would wait until after the legislative summer recess to push the issue.

By November, with little progress in committee, Representative Brooks had changed tack and was supporting a divided crime bill with individual bills addressing “cops on the beat, boot-camps, drug treatment, safe schools and anti-gang violence” measures. Because Representative Brooks had not attached the Brady Bill to any of these measures and was keeping it in committee, Paster urged President Clinton to call Representative Brooks and personally push for the Brady Bill to leave committee and come to a vote as a standalone bill.

In his November 1st call with Representative Brooks, President Clinton asked that the Brady Bill pass committee before the Veteran’s Day break on November 11th. President Clinton showed further support for the Brady Bill by meeting Jim and Sarah Brady in the Oval Office on November 2nd. On November 10th, in the face of the overwhelming support from President Clinton, the Brady Bill finally passed out of committee and came to a vote on the floor of the House of Representatives where it passed 238-189.

Ten days later, despite a lively debate by Republicans opposed to the bill, the Senate passed the Brady Bill 63-36 with an amendment attached. This amendment forced the Brady Bill back to a Conference Committee, made up of members of both congressional chambers, who would work to reconcile the versions of the Brady Bill passed in the House and Senate.

Senate Debate Points — *Read a summary of the arguments made against the Brady Bill in the United States Senate on November 19th, 1993.*

Work in the Conference Committee went smoothly and in mere hours, a version of the Brady Bill was agreed upon. The Next day, November 23rd, 1993, the amended version of the Brady Bill passed a vote in the House 238-187. On November 24th the Senate agreed to the amended version of the Brady Bill by voice vote and control of the Brady Bill’s future passed to President Clinton.

CHAPTER THREE:

THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS

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