H.R. 8 · 117th Congress

Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021

Introduced on Mar 1, 2021 by Mike Thompson (D-CA-5). 210 cosponsors, 3 of them from another party. Latest action (May 25, 2022): Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 390.

Stage
Passed one chamber
Introduced
Mar 1, 2021
Cosponsors
210
3 from the other party
Policy area
Crime and Law Enforcement
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Progress

The furthest stage the measure reached. Simple and concurrent resolutions do not go to the President.

  1. Introduced
  2. Reported by committee
  3. Passed one chamber
  4. 4Passed both chambers
  5. 5Sent to the President
  6. 6Became law

Official title

To require a background check for every firearm sale.

Subjects

  • Crime prevention
  • Criminal justice information and records
  • Firearms and explosives
  • Government information and archives
  • Licensing and registrations

Summary

By the Congressional Research Service (Passed House, Mar 11, 2021). Public domain.

Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021

This bill establishes new background check requirements for firearm transfers between private parties (i.e., unlicensed individuals).

Specifically, it prohibits a firearm transfer between private parties unless a licensed gun dealer, manufacturer, or importer first takes possession of the firearm to conduct a background check.

The prohibition does not apply to certain firearm transfers or exchanges, such as a gift between spouses in good faith.

Sponsor and cosponsors

Cosponsors by party as of the day they signed on. Original cosponsors signed on the day of introduction.

Mike ThompsonD-CA-5Sponsor

Democrats · 207

Republicans · 3

Roll calls

Recorded votes on the measure. Most measures move by voice vote or unanimous consent, which record no individual positions.

  1. On Motion to Recommit
    Mar 11, 2021· House· Procedural· Failed 207–217
  2. On Passage
    Mar 11, 2021· House· Passage· Passed 227–203

History

Every action as published, oldest first. Roll calls link to how each member voted.

  1. Mar 1, 2021Introduced in House
  2. Mar 1, 2021Introduced in House
  3. Mar 1, 2021 · HouseReferred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
  4. Mar 8, 2021 · HouseRules Committee Resolution H. Res. 188 Reported to House. Rule provides for consideration of H.R. 842, H.R. 8 and H.R. 1446. Rule provides for one hour of general debate for H.R. 842, H.R. 8, and H.R. 1446. The rule provides for a motion to recommit on H.R. 842, H.R. 8, and H.R. 1446.
  5. Mar 10, 2021 · HouseConsidered under the provisions of rule H. Res. 188. (consideration: CR H1286-1303)
  6. Mar 10, 2021 · HouseRule provides for consideration of H.R. 842, H.R. 8 and H.R. 1446. Rule provides for one hour of general debate for H.R. 842, H.R. 8, and H.R. 1446. The rule provides for a motion to recommit on H.R. 842, H.R. 8, and H.R. 1446.
  7. Mar 10, 2021 · HouseDEBATE - The House proceeded with one hour of debate on H.R. 8.
  8. Mar 10, 2021 · HouseDEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H.Res. 188, the House proceeded with 20 minutes of debate on the Nadler en bloc amendment No. 1.
  9. Mar 10, 2021 · HouseMotion to reconsider laid on the table. Agreed to without objection.
  10. Mar 10, 2021 · HouseMr. Jordan moved to recommit to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text: CR H1302)
  11. Mar 10, 2021 · HouseThe previous question on the motion to recommit was ordered without objection.
  12. Mar 10, 2021 · HousePOSTPONED PROCEEDINGS - At the conclusion of debate on the Jordan motion to recommit, the Chair put the question on agreeing to the motion to recommit and by voice vote announced that the noes had prevailed. Mr. Jordan demanded the yeas and nays and the Chair postponed further proceedings until a time to be announced.
  13. Mar 10, 2021 · HousePursuant to clause 1(c) of Rule XIX, further consideration of H.R. 8 is postponed.
  14. Mar 11, 2021 · HousePursuant to clause 1(c) of Rule XIX, the House resumed consideration of H.R. 8.
  15. Mar 11, 2021 · HouseConsidered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H1330-1332)
  16. Mar 11, 2021 · HouseUNFINISHED BUSINESS - The Chair announced that the unfinished business was the question on agreeing to the motion to recommit H.R. 8 which had been debated earlier and on which further proceedings had been postponed.
  17. Mar 11, 2021 · HouseOn motion to recommit Failed by the Yeas and Nays: 207 - 217 (Roll no. 74).House · Roll call 74
  18. Mar 11, 2021Passed/agreed to in House: On passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 227 - 203 (Roll no. 75).(text: 3/10/2021 CR H1286-1287)House · Roll call 75
  19. Mar 11, 2021 · HouseOn passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 227 - 203 (Roll no. 75). (text: 3/10/2021 CR H1286-1287)House · Roll call 75
  20. Mar 11, 2021 · HouseMotion to reconsider laid on the table. Agreed to without objection.
  21. Mar 11, 2021 · SenateReceived in the Senate.
  22. May 24, 2022 · SenateRead the first time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under Read the First Time.
  23. May 25, 2022 · SenateRead the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 390.

Committees

Committees and subcommittees the measure was referred to.

Agencies in its committees' jurisdiction

Analisa's mapping of committee jurisdiction to federal agencies; the bill may touch others, or none of these.

Sources and method

Every figure on this page traces to these records.

  • Bill status: bills and resolutions, sponsors, actions, subjects and CRS summaries (U.S. Government Publishing Office (GovInfo), from Congress.gov (Library of Congress))GovInfo Bill Status bulk data (Congress.gov; summaries by the Congressional Research Service) · data current to Oct 6, 2026 · loaded Oct 6, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Members of Congress, their terms, committees and identifiers (The @unitedstates project (from the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, the House and the Senate))unitedstates/congress-legislators: legislators, committees and current committee membership · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication)
  • House roll-call votes (Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, roll-call vote records · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Senate roll-call votes and DW-NOMINATE scores (Voteview (UCLA Department of Political Science))Lewis, Jeffrey B., Keith Poole, Howard Rosenthal, Adam Boche, Aaron Rudkin, and Luke Sonnet (2026). Voteview: Congressional Roll-Call Votes Database. https://voteview.com/ · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Free to use with the required citation
  • Lobbying disclosures (LD-1 registrations, LD-2 quarterly reports, LD-203 contribution reports) (Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives)Clerk of the House, Lobbying Disclosure Act filings (organizations only; lobbyists' names are not loaded) · data current to Oct 6, 2026 · loaded Oct 6, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Positions are shown only where a roll call recorded them; voice votes and unanimous consent record none.