January 06, 2023

Manchin Hosts FBI Director, DOJ Deputy Attorney General, Bipartisan Senators For Clarksburg FBI Division Visit

Charleston, WV – Yesterday, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) hosted Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) Director Christopher Wray, Department of Justice (DOJ) Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco and four bipartisan Senators for a visit to the Criminal Justice Information Services Division (CJIS) of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Clarksburg, West Virginia. The group received a series of briefings and demonstrations on how recent changes to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), following the passage of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, are protecting West Virginians and Americans across the country.

“I was glad to welcome FBI Director Wray and my bipartisan colleagues, alongside Senator Capito, at the Clarksburg CJIS facility, one of the FBI’s largest divisions outside of Washington, with more than 3,000 employees and contractors, to see the implementation of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act firsthand. This critical legislation bolstered CJIS efforts on background checks and other critical systems that help keep our fellow Americans safe, and I am proud West Virginia is leading the way at CJIS,” said Senator Manchin.

"We were able to host a bipartisan congressional visit to our CJIS Division and provide a briefing of the FBI's implementation of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA)," said FBI Director Christopher Wray. "The BSCA requires our National Instant Criminal Background Check System to alert state and local law enforcement of background check denials as well as expands checks for young adults. The FBI remains dedicated to meeting all of our legal requirements in order to protect the American public.”

NICS is the FBI's national system that, as required by law, conducts a background check on people in over 40 states and territories who want to purchase or possess a firearm or explosive. NICS also assists 13 additional states that conduct their own checks, which often rely on CJIS data.?The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which passed the Senate and was signed into law in June of 2022, expanded NICS background checks by the “misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence” prohibitor by applying that prohibition to persons convicted of a qualifying offense against a person with whom they are or were in a “dating relationship.” It also extended background checks to include juvenile criminal and mental health records for transactions related to individuals under 21.

Senator Manchin was joined by Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), John Cornyn (R-TX), Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) for the visit.