Congress earmarked $25 million in federal funds for gun violence research as part of its $1.37 trillion spending deal, ABC News reports.
This is the first time the federal government has allotted funding for gun violence research since 1996, when the Dickey Amendment was passed, kicking off two decades of political stalemate on research dollars. Last year, Congress clarified that the Dickey Amendment, which bans federal funds from being used for research that promotes gun control, does not ban the government from researching gun violence, according to the report.
The $25 million in funding will be split between the CDC and the National Institutes of Health. Both agencies will research the underlying causes of gun violence as well as evidence-based prevention for firearm injury and crime.
The funding is the most ever allotted for gun violence research, though it pales in comparison to funding for other public health causes of similar magnitude, according to report. For example, motor vehicle fatalities are roughly equal to gun violence deaths, but motor vehicle research receives about $90 million each year, according to the report.
Read the full story here.
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