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PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO FIREARMS ACTS

MONDAY, JULY 12, 1965

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS,

Washington, D.C.

The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10 o'clock in the committee room, Longworth House Office Building, Hon. Wilbur D. Mills (chairman of the committee) presiding.

The CHAIRMAN. The committee will please be in order.

Hearings will begin this morning for the purpose of receiving testimony from the administration and the general public on proposals relative to certain proposed amendments to the Federal Firearms Act and the National Firearms Act.

Without objection, at this point in the record I will include a copy of the press release which was issued on June 24, 1965, announcing the hearings and the details with regard to the testimony.

Also without objection, there will be included in the record at this point a copy of Executive Communication No. 748 which contains an explanation of the administration's proposal, along with copies of the draft legislation to amend the Federal Firearms Act and the National Firearms Act.

Today and tomorrow the committee will receive testimony from the administration witnesses, to be followed later by testimony from the interested public.

Our first witness this morning is the Honorable Joseph W. Barr, Under Secretary of the Treasury, accompanied by the Honorable Sheldon S. Cohen, Commissioner of Internal Revenue, who is momentarily delayed. Mr. Barr will be followed by the Attorney General, Mr. Nicholas deB. Katzenbach, who I understand has to appear before another committee at 10 o'clock this morning and will be here at approximately 11 o'clock.

Is there objection to the inclusion of the press release and the other material to which I referred? None is heard.

(The material follows:)

CHAIRMAN WILBUR D. MILLS, DEMOCRAT OF ARKANSAS, COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS, U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, ANNOUNCES FURTHER DETAILS RELATING TO THE HEARING ON PROPOSALS RELATING TO FIREARMS CONTROL

Subject: Firearms control hearings to begin July 12.

Chairman Wilbur D. Mills, Democrat of Arkansas, Committee on Ways and Means, announced today the details relative to public hearings on the subject of firearms control, which he announced yesterday. The various proposals on firearms control include the administration's proposals which relate to mail order shipments, the sale of firearms to younger persons, the importation of surplus military weapons and other firearms not suitable for sporting purposes,

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the interstate shipment of large caliber weapons such as bazookas, etc., increases in license fees, registration fees, and occupational taxes, etc.

These hearings are scheduled to begin Monday, July 12, 1965.

Witnesses

The leadoff witness on the first day of the public hearings will be the Attorney General, the Honorable Nicholas DeB. Katzenbach, along with other administration spokesmen. The governmental witnesses will be followed by interested public witnesses.

Due to the very limited time which can be devoted to these hearings, the chairman stated that it will be necessary that all interested persons and organizations with the same general interest coordinate their testimony and designate one spokesman to represent them.

As is usual in the case of public hearings, any interested person or organization will be permitted to file a germane written statement for inclusion in the printed record of the hearings in lieu of a personal appearance.

Cutoff date for requests to be heard: July 6

Requests to be heard with regard to this subject should be submitted no later than the close of business Tuesday, July 6.

The requests should be addressed to Leo H. Irwin, chief counsel, Committee on Ways and Means, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. Those persons scheduled to appear in person will be notified as soon as possible after the cutoff date, July 6, 1965.

Content of requests to be heard

In order to eliminate repetitious testimony and to properly schedule witnesses and allocate time, it will be necessary for the requests to be heard to specify:

(1) the name, address, and capacity in which the witness will appear; (2) the list of persons the witness represents or, in the case of an association or other organization, their total membership and where possible a membership list of the association or organization;

(3) the amount of time the witness desires in which to present his direct oral testimony;

(4) an indication of whether or not the witness is supporting or opposing the provisions of the administration's proposals; and

(5) a summary of the comments and recommendations which the witness proposes to make.

Purpose of the summaries

The purpose in requiring witnesses to submit summaries of their comments and recommendations which they plan to make as a part of their request to be heard is to enable the committee staff to circulate these summaries to those persons who have the same general interest so as to enable them to designate one spokesman to represent them, in those cases where it is not possible for them to coordinate their testimony in advance and designate one spokesman.

Since the interested public generally as a result of hearings already held on these subjects is aware of the persons and organizations who are likely to request to be heard, it should be possible in most instances in advance of submitting requests to be heard to coordinate testimony and designate a spokesman for those who have the same general interest. Proper coordination of testimony will permit the presentation of more effective testimony within the time which the committee will be able to allot to the witness.

The summaries contained in the requests to be heard will be available in the committee staff office to all interested persons, and as just stated, if further efforts at coordination are needed the staff will send the summaries to those persons with the same general interest so as to enable them to accomplish this.

Written statements

Number of copies.—In the case of those persons who are scheduled to appear and testify, it is requested that 60 copies of their written statement be submitted at least 24 hours in advance of their scheduled appearance.

In the case of those persons who are submitting written statements in lieu of a personal appearance, at least three copies of such written statement should be submitted no later than the close of business Tuesday, July 20. Persons submitting written statements in lieu of a personal appearance may also, if they desire, submit an additional 60 copies of their statements for distribution to the committee members and the interested deparmental and legislative staffs pending

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