[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3508 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 3508
To require the transfer of regulatory control of certain munitions
exports from the Department of Commerce to the Department of State, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
December 16, 2025
Mr. Murphy (for himself, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Markey, Mr. Durbin, and Ms.
Warren) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the transfer of regulatory control of certain munitions
exports from the Department of Commerce to the Department of State, and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLES; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Titles.--This Act may be cited as the ``Americas Regional
Monitoring of Arms Sales Act of 2025'' or the ``ARMAS Act of 2025''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short titles; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
Sec. 4. Transfer of regulatory control of certain munitions exports
from the Department of Commerce to the
Department of State.
Sec. 5. Reports and strategy on disruption of illegal export and
trafficking of firearms to Mexico and
certain Central American and Caribbean
countries.
Sec. 6. Increasing participation in the eTrace program.
Sec. 7. Modifications to the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative.
Sec. 8. Designation of covered countries.
Sec. 9. Certification requirements relating to certain munitions
exports.
Sec. 10. Limitation on licenses and other authorizations for export of
certain items removed from the Commerce
Control List and included on the United
States Munitions List.
Sec. 11. Prohibitions on promotion of covered munitions.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Violence in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean
is exacerbated by firearms originating in the United States.
(2) While firearms are trafficked to Mexico from a variety
of countries, firearms originating in the United States account
for 70 percent of the firearms recovered and traced from crimes
in Mexico, according to the 2021 Government Accountability
Office (referred to in this section as ``GAO'') report
published by the Comptroller General of the United States and
titled ``Firearms Trafficking: U.S. Efforts to Disrupt Gun
Smuggling into Mexico Would Benefit from Additional Data and
Analysis''.
(3) United States-origin firearm flows contribute to human
rights violations, organized crime and gang violence,
extrajudicial killings, high homicide rates, domestic violence,
and femicides in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean.
(4) Firearms trafficking from the United States and firearm
violence are key drivers of immigration and asylum claims from
Central America.
(5) According to the United Nations Regional Centre for
Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the
Caribbean--
(A) firearms are used in 70 percent of homicides in
the Caribbean compared to 30 percent globally; and
(B) while the Caribbean constitutes less than 1
percent of the global population, 23 percent of all
recorded homicides worldwide take place in the
Caribbean.
(6) In an August 2022 press conference, Homeland Security
Investigations officials reported a ``marked uptick in the
number of weapons'' and an increase in the caliber and type of
weapons being illegally trafficked to Haiti and the rest of the
Caribbean.
(7) The Caribbean Basin Security Initiative of the
Department of State, which commenced in 2009--
(A) is the regional foreign assistance program of
the United States that seeks to reduce illicit weapons
trafficking in the Caribbean region and advance public
safety and security;
(B) seeks to improve the capacity of Caribbean
countries to intercept smuggled weapons at airports and
seaports;
(C) provides support for forensic ballistics and
firearms destruction and stockpile management; and
(D) has also included support for regional
organizations, including--
(i) the Caribbean Community Implementation
Agency for Crime and Security (CARICOM IMPACS),
which based in Trinidad and Tobago, and is the
lead agency involved in the issue of illicit
firearms trafficking and increasing the
capacity of member states to detect and prevent
firearms trafficking; and
(ii) the Eastern Caribbean's Regional
Security System, which is based in Barbados.
(8) Two GAO reports on firearms trafficking, which were
published in 2021 and 2022, respectively, have affirmed that
firearms trafficking to Mexico and Central America continues to
represent a security concern to the United States, as United
States-origin firearms are diverted from legitimate owners and
end up in the hands of violent criminals, including drug
traffickers and other transnational criminal organizations.
(9) In the reports referred to in paragraph (8), the
Comptroller General of the United States determined that--
(A) Federal departments and agencies lacked
information and analysis of the firearms trafficking
networks in Mexico and Central America;
(B) few efforts by the United States Government in
that region focused on firearms trafficking; and
(C) Federal departments and agencies lack a
detailed understanding of the firearms trafficking that
fuels violence and arms criminals in Belize, El
Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico.
(10) Firearms that were used to kidnap and kill a group of
United States citizens traveling in Matamoros, Mexico were
illegally smuggled from the United States into Mexico. The
suspect in these killings admitted to Federal agents that he
purchased firearms in the United States, smuggled them across
the United States border, and knowingly provided them to
members of the Gulf Cartel.
(11) As the incident described in paragraph (10)
demonstrates, United States-sourced firearms are being smuggled
and diverted to cartels implicated in the supply and flow of
illegal fentanyl and other dangerous drugs, which threatens the
public health and safety of United States citizens.
(12) In the 2022 GAO report titled ``Firearms Trafficking:
More Information Needed to Inform U.S. Efforts in Central
America'', the Comptroller General of the United States--
(A) reported efforts of the United States
Government focused on firearms trafficking in Belize,
El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras lacked information
about relevant country conditions and performance
measures to ensure such efforts were designed and
implemented to achieve the intended objectives; and
(B) recommended the Secretary of State obtain
information about the conditions in such countries to
support the development of effective programs to reduce
the availability of illicit firearms.
(13) As of the date of the publication of the report
referred to in paragraph (12), the Secretary of Commerce had
not assigned any agents to Central America on permanent
assignment.
(14) In 2021 and 2022, the annual Country Reports on Human
Rights Practices of the Department of State included ``unlawful
and arbitrary killings'' as a significant human rights issue in
Guatemala. Despite such inclusion, the Under Secretary of
Commerce for Industry and Security has authorized approximately
99,270 firearms exports to Guatemala since assuming
responsibility for firearms licensing on March 9, 2020.
(15) When firearms were controlled under the United States
Munitions List and the licensing of firearms for export was the
responsibility of the Secretary of State, the average number of
firearms licensed for export to Guatemala was approximately
4,000 per year.
(16) The number of firearms recently exported to Guatemala,
as specified in paragraph (14), represents an extraordinary
increase from the average number of firearms exported to
Guatemala before the transfer of licensing responsibility, as
specified in paragraph (15). According to the 2022 GAO report
titled ``Firearms Trafficking: More Information Needed to
Inform U.S. Efforts in Central America'', the Under Secretary
of Commerce for Industry and Security has only been able to
conduct a very limited number of end-use checks.
(17) Since the Department of Commerce gained jurisdiction
over the control of firearm export licensing--
(A) there has been a 30 percent increase in firearm
exports compared to averages for such exports when the
control of such exports was under the jurisdiction of
the Department of State; and
(B) the Secretary of Commerce has approved
approximately 95 percent of license applications for
such exports.
(18) According to the United States Census Bureau, Mexico,
Guatemala, and Brazil are among the top 10 destinations for
United States-manufactured semiautomatic firearm exports.
(19) The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (Public Law 117-
159), which was enacted into law on June 25, 2022, implemented
key efforts to address firearm trafficking, including by--
(A) establishing a Federal criminal offense for
firearm trafficking; and
(B) strengthening the capability of the Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to interdict
firearms.
(20) A growing number of firearms exported by United States
manufacturers are involved in violent crimes worldwide, such as
the pistol used in a mass shooting of 23 children and 2
teachers in Thailand in October 2022, which was linked to a
United States factory.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
Senate;
(B) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban
Affairs of the Senate; and
(C) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House
of Representatives.
(2) Covered munition.--The term ``covered munition''
means--
(A) any previously covered item; and
(B) any item that, on or after the date of the
enactment of this Act, is designated for control under
Category I, II, or III of the United States Munitions
List pursuant to section 38 of the Arms Export Control
Act (22 U.S.C. 2778) or otherwise subject to control
under any such category.
(3) Firearm.--The term ``firearm'' includes covered
munitions.
(4) Gross violations of internationally recognized human
rights.--The term ``gross violations of internationally
recognized human rights'' has the meaning given such term in
section 502B(d)(1) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22
U.S.C. 2304(d)(1)).
(5) Previously covered item.--The term ``previously covered
item'' means any item that--
(A) as of March 8, 2020, was included in Category
I, II, or III of the United States Munitions List; and
(B) as of the date of the enactment of this Act, is
included on the Commerce Control List.
(6) Security assistance.--The term ``security assistance''
includes--
(A) any type of assistance described in section
502B(d)(2) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22
U.S.C. 2304(d)(2)); and
(B) assistance furnished under an international
security assistance program of the United States
conducted under any other provision of law, including
the authorities granted under chapter 16 of title 10,
United States Code.
(7) United states munitions list.--The term ``United States
Munitions List'' means the list maintained pursuant to part 121
of title 22, Code of Federal Regulations.
SEC. 4. TRANSFER OF REGULATORY CONTROL OF CERTAIN MUNITIONS EXPORTS
FROM DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE TO DEPARTMENT OF STATE.
(a) Transfer.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall
transfer control over the export of each previously covered
item to the jurisdiction of the Department of State.
(2) Effect of transfer.--Beginning on the date of the
transfer required under paragraph (1), control over the export
of any covered munition may not be transferred back to the
jurisdiction of the Department of Commerce.
(b) Rulemaking.--The Secretary of State and the Secretary of
Commerce shall prescribe such regulations as may be necessary to
implement this section by the date specified in subsection (a)(1).
(c) Prohibition on Promotion of Certain Munitions Exports by
Department of Commerce.--The Secretary of Commerce may not take any
action to promote the export of any previously covered item, including
actions before, on, or after the date on which the Secretary transfers
the control over the export of the previously covered item to the
jurisdiction of the Department State pursuant to subsection (a)(1).
(d) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section may be construed
as limiting any authority relating to the designation, control, or
removal of items under the United States Munitions List or the Commerce
Control List, other than the specific authority to transfer the control
of previously covered items in accordance with subsection (a).
SEC. 5. REPORTS AND STRATEGY ON DISRUPTION OF ILLEGAL EXPORT AND
TRAFFICKING OF FIREARMS TO MEXICO AND CERTAIN CENTRAL
AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN COUNTRIES.
(a) Report.--
(1) Submission.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in
consultation with the Secretary of Commerce, the Attorney
General, the Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives, and the heads of such other Federal
departments or agencies as the Secretary of State determines to
be relevant, shall submit a report to the appropriate
congressional committees that describes the efforts of the
Secretary of State and the heads of other relevant Federal
departments and agencies to disrupt--
(A) the illegal export or diversion of firearms
from the United States to unauthorized recipients in
countries designated as covered countries pursuant to
section 8(a), including through unauthorized third-
party transfers; and
(B) the illegal trafficking of firearms obtained in
the United States to recipients in such countries.
(2) Matters to be included.--The report required under
paragraph (1) shall include, with respect to the efforts
specified in such paragraph--
(A) the identification of any such efforts,
including efforts--
(i) to track and verify information
regarding the end-users of firearms exported
from the United States, including by entering
into data-sharing agreements--
(I) with appropriate counterparts
from the governments of such covered
countries; and
(II) between relevant departments
and agencies of the United States
Government;
(ii) to ensure the destruction of surplus
firearms that have been exported from the
United States;
(iii) to ensure that exported firearms are
not used to commit extrajudicial killings or
other gross violations of internationally
recognized human rights;
(iv) to build the capacity in such covered
countries to prevent the trafficking of
illegally imported firearms, including through
existing programs supported or implemented by
the United States Government;
(v) to track and verify information
regarding the end-users of firearms obtained in
the United States and illegally trafficked to
such covered countries;
(vi) to combat all forms of cross-border
smuggling of firearms from the United States,
including firearms smuggled on maritime vessels
and aircraft;
(vii) to engage with subnational government
officials in such covered countries to
effectively implement and enforce agreements