President Biden’s Budget Proposal Includes Historic Investment in Combating City Gun Violence

Today, President Joe Biden announced his proposed budget for FY2023 with a specific focus on addressing city gun violence by calling for a historic $500 million investment in community violence intervention (CVI) programs, split between the Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services. Additionally, the proposed budget includes a 13 percent increase in funding for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to crack down on illegal gun trafficking and increase regulation of the gun industry, and takes aim at our nation’s gun suicide crisis. This proposal follows through on the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to using the levers available to it to keep illegal guns out of our communities and fund solutions that work. To make the best of these investments, President Biden should also immediately nominate an ATF director to lead the agency and help implement his gun safety agenda.  

“This budget is proof that President Biden is backing up his words with action when it comes to supporting frontline organizations that are fighting gun violence in the hardest-hit communities, addressing our nation’s gun suicide crisis, and giving the ATF the tools it needs to do its job,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety. “But the President can’t do this work on his own, so Congress needs to follow his lead and fund proven solutions to prevent gun violence.”

“President Biden ran on the strongest gun violence prevention platform, and with this budget proposal the Biden-Harris Administration continues to live up to that commitment,” said Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action. “As gun violence continues to ravage our communities every day, it’s more critical than ever to make substantive investments in community violence intervention programs that are proven to save lives and to bolster the ATF in its efforts to crack down on illegal guns in our communities.”

Everytown and Moms Demand Action have been calling for increased investment in community violence intervention programs for years. Last year, Everytown hosted a press call with White House Senior Advisor Cedric Richmond, Reps. Robin Kelly (D-IL) and Steven Horsford (D-NV), and community leaders to call out the importance of increasing CVI funding. Everytown also launched the Everytown Community Safety Fund, a new initiative dedicated to supporting community-based violence intervention programs. Everytown Support Fund is committing $25 million to the initiative, and will distribute funds over the course of five years to local organizations through competitive grants.  

Everytown ​​is a member of the Invest In Us Coalition, a group of community and national violence prevention organizations committed to building support for increased federal funding for evidence-informed community solutions to gun violence and educating leaders and the general public about proactive solutions to make our communities safer.

The full proposed FY2023 budget can be found here.