Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley said Thursday his committee will hold an oversight hearing on the recent Parkland, Fla., shooting and school safety on March 14.
“Events like this require that we come together in a clear and bipartisan manner and find a way forward,” Mr. Grassley said at a committee business meeting.
He said Sens. John Cornyn, Texas Republican, and Dianne Feinstein, California Democrat, recently discussed how to find a way to coalesce around legislation in response to the mass shooting.
Mr. Cornyn is pushing legislation to try to increase the number of records entered into the federal background check system, while Mrs. Feinstein has called for banning so-called military-style semiautomatic weapons and increasing the minimum buying age for rifles from 18 to 21 years of age.
The senators met with President Trump and other lawmakers at the White House Wednesday on the issue.
“The great tragedy of the Parkland shooting is that it was preventable, and the FBI and local law enforcement failed to act on credible tips that should have neutralized the killer and gotten him some help,” Mr. Grassley said.
The FBI has acknowledged it failed to follow up on tips that Nikolas Cruz, 19, the man police say killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School last month, had a gun and wanted to hurt people.
Mr. Grassley said that at his direction, the FBI and companies like Google and Facebook are briefing committee staff on their responses to warnings about Cruz’s behavior.
“Government must be held accountable for its mistakes. It is also clear that private companies can do more to prevent future mass shootings by identifying threatening content and warning law enforcement officials,” he said.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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