United States 118th Congress Status: In Committee 71 R cosponsors

HR 152 — Hearing Protection Act

Last action — Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.

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  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill died with 118th Congress. It reached “In Committee” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.

This bill is no longer active — its legislative session has ended, so there is no live prognosis. It would have to be reintroduced in the current session to move again.

In plain language

The bill removes silencers from the definition of firearms in tax law.

The Hearing Protection Act amends federal tax law to classify silencers separately from firearms, impacting their registration and taxation. It also mandates the destruction of registration records for silencers within a year of enactment.

Summary

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to remove silencers from the definition of firearms, and for other purposes.

Bill Text

Sections of law this bill changes

5 sections in 3 laws

From the bill's own amending language, matched to the official United States Code (current through Public Law 119-121).

Firearms · 18 U.S.C. ch. 44 1 section
  • § 927 Effect on State law Amends

    18 U.S.C. § 927

    The law today

    No provision of this chapter shall be construed as indicating an intent on the part of the Congress to occupy the field in which such provision operates to the exclusion of the law of any State on the same subject matter, unless there is a direct and positive conflict between such provision and the law of the State so that the two cannot be reconciled or consistently stand together.

    46 other bills also change this section · Follow it → Official text at uscode.house.gov ↗

Manufacturers excise taxes · 26 U.S.C. ch. 32 2 sections
  • § 4181 Imposition of tax Amends

    26 U.S.C. § 4181

    The law today

    There is hereby imposed upon the sale by the manufacturer, producer, or importer of the following articles a tax equivalent to the specified percent of the price for which so sold: Articles taxable at 10 percent— Pistols. Revolvers. Articles taxable at 11 percent— Firearms (other than pistols and revolvers). Shells, and cartridges.

    24 other bills also change this section · Follow it → Official text at uscode.house.gov ↗

  • § 4182 Exemptions Amends

    26 U.S.C. § 4182 — at 4182(b) and 4182(c)(1)

    The law today

    (a) Machine guns and short barrelled firearms The tax imposed by section 4181 shall not apply to any firearm on which the tax provided by section 5811 has been paid. For purposes of the preceding sentence, any firearm described in section 5811(a)(2) shall be deemed to be a firearm on which the tax provided by section 5811 has been paid. (b) Sales to defense department No firearms, pistols, revolvers, shells, and cartridges purchased with funds appropriated for the military department shall be subject to any tax imposed on the sale or transfer of such articles. (c) Small manufacturers, etc. (1) In general The tax imposed by section 4181 shall not apply to any pistol, revolver, or firearm described in such section if manufactured, produced, or imported by a person who manufactures, produces, and imports less than an aggregate of 50 of such articles during the calendar year. (2) Controlled groups All persons treated as a single employer for purposes of subsection (a) or (b) of section 52 shall be treated as one person for purposes of paragraph (1). (d) Records Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 922(b)(5) and 923(g) of title 18, United States Code, no person holding a Federal license under chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, shall be required to record the name, address, or other information about the purchaser of shotgun ammunition, ammunition suitable for use only in rifles generally available in commerce, or component parts for the aforesaid types of ammunition.

    36 other bills also change this section · Follow it → Official text at uscode.house.gov ↗

Machine guns, destructive devices, and certain other firearms · 26 U.S.C. ch. 53 2 sections
  • § 5841 Registration of firearms Amends

    26 U.S.C. § 5841

    The law today

    (a) Central registry The Secretary shall maintain a central registry of all firearms in the United States which are not in the possession or under the control of the United States. This registry shall be known as the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record. The registry shall include— (1) identification of the firearm; (2) date of registration; and (3) identification and address of person entitled to possession of the firearm. (b) By whom registered Each manufacturer, importer, and maker shall register each firearm he manufactures, imports, or makes. Each firearm transferred shall be registered to the transferee by the transferor. (c) How registered Each manufacturer shall notify the Secretary of the manufacture of a firearm in such manner as may by regulations be prescribed and such notification shall effect the registration of the firearm required by this section. Each importer, maker, and transferor of a firearm shall, prior to importing, making, or transferring a firearm, obtain authorization in such manner as required by this chapter or regulations issued thereunder to import, make, or transfer the firearm, and such authorization shall effect the registration of the firearm required by this section. (d) Firearms registered on effective date of this Act A person shown as possessing a firearm by the records maintained by the Secretary pursuant to the National Firearms Act in force on the day immediately prior to the effective date of the National Firearms Act of 1968 1 shall be considered to have registered under this section the firearms in his possession which are disclosed by that record as being in his possession. (e) Proof of registration A person possessing a firearm registered as required by this section shall retain proof of registration which shall be made available to the Secretary upon request.

    35 other bills also change this section · Follow it → Official text at uscode.house.gov ↗

  • § 5845 Definitions Amends

    26 U.S.C. § 5845 — at 5845(a)

    The law today

    For the purpose of this chapter— (a) Firearm The term “firearm” means (1) a shotgun having a barrel or barrels of less than 18 inches in length; (2) a weapon made from a shotgun if such weapon as modified has an overall length of less than 26 inches or a barrel or barrels of less than 18 inches in length; (3) a rifle having a barrel or barrels of less than 16 inches in length; (4) a weapon made from a rifle if such weapon as modified has an overall length of less than 26 inches or a barrel or barrels of less than 16 inches in length; (5) any other weapon, as defined in subsection (e); (6) a machinegun; (7) any silencer (as defined in section 921 of title 18, United States Code); and (8) a destructive device. The term “firearm” shall not include an antique firearm or any device (other than a machinegun or destructive device) which, although designed as a weapon, the Secretary finds by reason of the date of its manufacture, value, design, and other characteristics is primarily a collector’s item and is not likely to be used as a weapon. (b) Machinegun The term “machinegun” means any weapon which shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily restored to shoot, automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger. The term shall also include the frame or receiver of any such weapon, any part designed and intended solely and exclusively, or combination of parts designed and intended, for use in converting a weapon into a machinegun, and any combination of parts from which a machinegun can be assembled if such parts are in the possession or under the control of a person. (c) Rifle The term “rifle” means a weapon designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be fired from the shoulder and designed or redesigned and made or remade to use the energy of the explosive in a fixed cartridge to fire only a single projectile through a rifled bore for each single pull of the trigger, and shall include any such weapon which may be readily restored to fire a fixed cartridge. (d) Shotgun The term “shotgun” means a weapon designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be fired from the shoulder and designed or redesigned and made or remade to use the energy of the explosive in a fixed shotgun shell to fire through a smooth bore either a number of projectiles (ball shot) or a single projectile for each pull of the trigger, and shall include any such weapon which may be readily restored to fire a fixed shotgun shell. (e) Any other weapon The term “any other weapon” means any weapon or device capable of being concealed on the person from which a shot can be discharged through the energy of an explosive, a pistol or revolver having a barrel with a smooth bore designed or redesigned to fire a fixed shotgun shell, weapons with combination shotgun and rifle barrels 12 inches or more, less than 18 inches in length, from which only a single discharge can be made from either barrel without manual reloading, and shall include any such weapon which may be readily restored to fire. Such term shall not include a pistol or a revolver having a rifled bore, or rifled bores, or weapons designed, made, or intended to be fired from the shoulder and not capable of firing fixed ammunition. (f) Destructive device The term “destructive device” means (1) any explosive, incendiary, or poison gas (A) bomb, (B) grenade, (C) rocket having a propellent charge of more than four ounces, (D) missile having an explosive or incendiary charge of more than one-quarter ounce, (E) mine, or (F) similar device; (2) any type of weapon by whatever name known which will, or which may be readily converted to, expel a projectile by the action of an explosive or other propellant, the barrel or barrels of which have a bore of more than one-half inch in diameter, except a shotgun or shotgun shell which the Secretary finds is generally recognized as particularly suitable for sporting purposes; and (3) any combination of parts eit...

    66 other bills also change this section · Follow it → Official text at uscode.house.gov ↗

Also cites: 26 U.S.C. § 5812, 26 U.S.C. § 5822

How this bill changes current law

1 change Share ↗

Compared against current U.S. Code AI-generated reading aid — verify against the official bill.

The bill adds a provision that preempts state laws regulating firearm silencers, effectively limiting state authority in this area.

  • 18 U.S.C. § 927

    No provision of this chapter shall be construed as indicating an intent on the part of the Congress to occupy the field in which such provision operates to the exclusion of the law of any State on the same subject matter, unless there is a direct and positive conflict between such provision and the law of the State so that the two cannot be reconciled or consistently stand together. → Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, a law of a State or a political subdivision of a State that imposes a tax, other than a generally applicable sales or use tax, on making, transferring, using, possessing, or transporting a firearm silencer in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, or imposes a marking, recordkeeping or registration requirement with respect to such a firearm silencer, shall have no force or effect.

    This change prevents states from enforcing tax or registration laws related to firearm silencers.

Action History

  1. Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.

  2. Introduced in House

  3. Introduced in House

  4. Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

  5. Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 70 co-sponsors · 476 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (70)

Not signed on (476)

476 members have not signed on to this bill.

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"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

public-safety taxation labor
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Frequently asked questions

What does HR 152 do?
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to remove silencers from the definition of firearms, and for other purposes.
Who sponsors HR 152?
HR 152 is sponsored by Duncan, Jeff (Republican), Aderholt, Robert B. (Republican), Armstrong, Kelly (Republican), Bergman, Jack (Republican), Biggs, Andy (Republican), Bishop, Dan (Republican), Brecheen, Josh (Republican), Buck, Ken (Republican), Burchett, Tim (Republican), Cammack, Kat (Republican), Carl, Jerry L. (Republican), Carter, Earl L. "Buddy" (Republican), Cline, Ben (Republican), Cloud, Michael (Republican), Comer, James (Republican), Estes, Ron (Republican), Ferguson, A. Drew (Republican), Finstad, Brad (Republican), Fleischmann, Charles J. "Chuck" (Republican), Fulcher, Russ (Republican), Gaetz, Matt (Republican), Gosar, Paul A. (Republican), Griffith, H. Morgan (Republican), Guthrie, Brett (Republican), Harris, Andy (Republican), Harshbarger, Diana (Republican), Hern, Kevin (Republican), Hudson, Richard (Republican), Huizenga, Bill (Republican), Issa, Darrell (Republican), Jordan, Jim (Republican), Kustoff, David (Republican), LaTurner, Jake (Republican), Lesko, Debbie (Republican), McClintock, Tom (Republican), Mooney, Alexander X. (Republican), Murphy, Gregory F. (Republican), Norman, Ralph (Republican), Palmer, Gary J. (Republican), Perry, Scott (Republican), Pfluger, August (Republican), Reschenthaler, Guy (Republican), Roy, Chip (Republican), Scott, Austin (Republican), Sessions, Pete (Republican), Stauber, Pete (Republican), Thompson, Glenn (Republican), Timmons, William R. (Republican), Weber, Randy K. Sr. (Republican), Webster, Daniel (Republican), Wilson, Joe (Republican), Wittman, Robert J. (Republican), Womack, Steve (Republican), Mast, Brian J. (Republican), Green, Mark E. (Republican), Boebert, Lauren (Republican), Loudermilk, Barry (Republican), Moolenaar, John R. (Republican), Bost, Mike (Republican), Smith, Adrian (Republican), Dunn, Neal P. (Republican), Luna, Anna Paulina (Republican), De La Cruz, Monica (Republican), Grothman, Glenn (Republican), Carter, John R. (Republican), Luttrell, Morgan (Republican), Rosendale, Matthew M. (Republican), Barr, Andy (Republican), Clyde, Andrew S. (Republican), Hageman, Harriet M. (Republican), and Arrington, Jodey C. (Republican).
What is the current status of HR 152?
This bill died with 118th Congress. It reached “In Committee” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.
Where can I track HR 152?
Track HR 152 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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