WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, helped secure $25 million to fund gun violence research in this year’s Labor-HHS-Education funding bill that the Senate will vote on this week. The bill specifically includes $12.5 million for the Center for Disease Control and $12.5 million for the National Institute for Health to research the causes of gun violence in the United States: 

“The politics of gun violence are literally shifting beneath our feet,” said Murphy. “The small steps forward on gun safety in this budget bill—including the funding for research I fought for and secured—are really good news. But we can’t stop here. We need to continue urging Mitch McConnell to schedule a debate and vote on universal background checks legislation in the Senate. We also came really close to an agreement with the White House to expand background checks earlier his year, and we have to remind Trump that we’re ready to pick those negotiations back up at any time.” 

In April, Murphy joined members of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee in urging the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies to include $50 million in the FY2020 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill for CDC gun violence research. In November, Murphy joined U.S. Senators Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) in authoring an op-ed for the USA Today about their bipartisan background checks talks with the White House this summer and fall. 

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