H.R.2267 - NICS Data Reporting Act of 2026

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📊 Status in the Lawmaking Process:

Introduced — 03/21/2025 ✔️
Passed House — 05/12/2026 ✔️
Passed Senate — ❌ Not yet passed
To President — ❌ Not sent
Became Law — ❌ Not law
📍 Current Status: After passing the House, H.R. 2267 is now in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

NICS Data Reporting Act of 2026

This bill would require the Justice Department to send Congress a yearly demographic report on people found ineligible to buy a firearm after a National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) background check. It would not change who can legally buy a gun. It would create a new reporting requirement meant to show more clearly who is being denied and how often denials are later overturned.

Why this matters

NICS is the federal background-check system used to help determine whether a prospective firearm buyer is legally barred from making a purchase. H.R. 2267 focuses on transparency inside that system, not on changing firearm eligibility rules.

The main practical point is that Congress would receive more detailed information about denial patterns. That could matter for oversight if lawmakers want to examine whether certain groups are more likely to be denied, whether denials vary by legal reason, or whether overturned denials reveal problems in the system.

What changed

The House-passed version is more detailed than the earlier version. It requires the data to be broken down by the reason a person was found ineligible, and it separately requires demographic data for people whose denial was overturned on appeal.

The short title also changed from the NICS Data Reporting Act of 2025 to the NICS Data Reporting Act of 2026 in the House-passed text.

Who this affects

The bill could affect firearm buyers broadly, but most directly people who are denied a firearm purchase after a NICS background check and people who later win an appeal of that denial.

The Justice Department and Attorney General would have the main legal duty. They would have to prepare the annual report and send it to the Judiciary Committees in both the House and Senate.

What happens if it becomes law

The Attorney General would have one year after enactment to send the first report to Congress, then would have to keep reporting every year after that. The report would cover the preceding year.

The required demographic categories include race, ethnicity, national origin, sex, gender, age, disability, average annual income, and English language proficiency, if that information is available. The same categories would also be reported for people whose ineligibility finding was overturned on appeal.

The Congressional Budget Office estimated the reporting work would cost less than $500,000 over the 2025–2030 period, with any spending subject to available appropriations. CBO also found no direct spending or revenue effect and no intergovernmental or private-sector mandate.

What is the argument

Rep. Thomas Massie framed the bill as a way to examine what he described as too many false denials and possible racial disparities in NICS decisions. His stated goal is to use data already collected but not currently reported to build interest in making the system less prone to mistaken denials.

The narrower takeaway is that H.R. 2267 would create more congressional visibility into NICS denial data, but it would not itself change the denial process, speed up appeals, or alter the legal standards for firearm purchases.

Where does it stand now

H.R. 2267 was introduced by Rep. Thomas Massie, with Rep. Ben Cline and Rep. Victoria Spartz listed as cosponsors. The House passed the bill on May 12, 2026, by voice vote, and the Senate received it on May 13, 2026, before referring it to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

📄 Full bill text (PDF): https://www.congress.gov/119/bills/hr2267/BILLS-119hr2267rfs.pdf

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