Congress Exposes Millions in Possibly Illegal CDC & NIH Gun Control Spending

In a scathing report backed by multiple members of Congress and detailed through Gun Owners of America (GOA) and gun rights YouTube channel Guns & Gadgets, it has now been confirmed that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have used millions in federal tax dollars to promote gun control – potentially in violation of federal law. 

The information was brought to light thanks to letters authored by Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger and Congressman Andrew Clyde, supported by GOA’s research and advocacy. The controversy surrounds the misuse of federal research grants, which were allegedly spent to influence gun policy despite explicit restrictions put in place by Congress decades ago.

The Dickey Amendment: A Law Ignored

At the center of the controversy is the Dickey Amendment, passed in 1996, which clearly states: “None of the funds made available may be used to advocate or promote gun control.” According to Aidan Johnston of Gun Owners of America, the law was originally enacted to prevent politicized anti-gun studies by agencies like the CDC. Johnston noted that the CDC has a long history of gun control bias, referencing a 1993 CDC study that called for a national gun registry and criminal penalties for owning unregistered handguns. Despite the legal guardrails of the Dickey Amendment, Johnston argues that the CDC and NIH have ignored the law in spirit and practice.

Obama-Era Shift Set the Stage

As Johnston details in his article, the CDC’s anti-gun tilt picked up momentum during the Obama administration. In 2013, President Obama issued an executive order calling gun violence a public health issue and instructed the CDC to resume gun-related research. That order opened the floodgates for what was supposed to be a neutral, scientific inquiry but quickly turned into a taxpayer-funded campaign against lawful gun ownership. Research topics included “health risks of having firearms in the home” and “factors associated with accessing and carrying guns” – language that clearly leaned toward control, not neutrality.

Jared Yanis: “They’re Using Our Money Against Us”

YouTube host Jared Yanis of Guns & Gadgets delivered a furious breakdown of the findings in a recent video. Yanis didn’t mince words, calling the spending “blatant fraud” and “mind-numbing.” He explained how, while Americans were filing their taxes, the federal government was spending that same hard-earned money to chip away at the Second Amendment under the radar. “They are using our money against us,” he said, visibly frustrated.

The Hidden Millions: A Breakdown of Spending

According to the letter reviewed by Yanis and published by GOA, a staggering $25 million was funneled into gun control-focused research, including:

• $3.66 million to study firearm retirement for senior citizens.
• $1.1 million to explore how legal gun ownership increases risk.
• $428,000 to examine how crime reporting leads to racial bias.
• $2.1 million on firearm risk studies involving Asian-American communities.
• $333,000 to evaluate California’s gun confiscation laws and waiting periods.
• $518,000 to expand background checks and storage mandates in Michigan.

Each of these studies, critics say, goes far beyond medical treatment or injury recovery – the original scope intended for CDC and NIH funding – and instead aims to generate “evidence” that lawmakers can later use to justify restrictive gun laws.

Censoring the Truth: Defensive Gun Use Wiped From the CDC Website

Possibly the most egregious act, according to GOA, was the CDC’s deletion of its own data on defensive gun use (DGU). The page originally cited studies showing DGU occurred between 60,000 and 2.5 million times per year. But after closed-door meetings with gun control advocates, including Mark Bryant of the Gun Violence Archive, the CDC removed the references entirely. 

An email from Bryant, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, read: “That 2.5 million number needs to be killed, buried, dug up, killed again and buried again.” The removal followed pressure from Senator Dick Durbin and White House staffers, according to The Reload.

Weaponizing Science for Politics

GOA’s Aidan Johnston described this approach as “treating gun-related crime like a virus” – but only one strain is being studied. Instead of researching how to treat firearm injuries or improve emergency responses, the focus has shifted toward promoting confiscation laws, background check expansions, and storage mandates. “This is not public health. This is policy disguised as science,” Johnston warned. Jared Yanis agreed, saying this strategy is designed to manipulate public opinion by cloaking gun control in the language of safety and health.

Congress Responds with Demands for Reform

The congressional letter calls on Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. of Health and Human Services to take immediate action. The letter includes seven demands:

1. Stop using CDC and NIH to advocate for gun control.
2. Withdraw the U.S. Surgeon General’s “public health crisis” advisory on gun violence.
3. Research the effects of gun-free zones.
4. Study the hearing damage caused by restrictions on suppressors.
5. Analyze how media coverage may inspire mass shootings.
6. Focus on actual firearm injury treatments.
7. Restore censored statistics on defensive gun use.

This is not just a scolding – it’s a roadmap for returning these agencies to their intended purpose.

How the Media Fits In

One of the more subtle but dangerous aspects of this scandal is how media outlets use these “scientific” studies to build narratives. Once the CDC or NIH publishes a report – no matter how slanted – it becomes headline news. Politicians cite the findings. Activists repeat the numbers. But very few reporters ask where the funding came from or whether the study respected the Dickey Amendment. According to Jared Yanis, “It’s all theater, and it’s being staged with your paycheck.”

A Pattern Repeating Across Administrations

While the Biden administration is catching the heat now, this isn’t a new tactic. GOA has been fighting this battle since the 1990s. The difference today is scale and coordination. With $60 million requested for gun research in Biden’s 2025 budget and $25 million already snuck into this year’s Senate budget, the scope has grown. If unchecked, it’s likely that even more agencies will get roped into the cause – not just CDC and NIH, but potentially the Department of Education, Homeland Security, and others.

This Isn’t Research – It’s Regulation in Disguise

There’s something very unsettling about the government funding studies that are clearly designed to generate political ammunition. Research is supposed to ask open questions, not guide toward pre-written answers. When agencies that are supposed to be neutral become tools of advocacy, it’s not just bad science – it’s government propaganda. And when that propaganda is used to justify taking away constitutionally protected rights, it’s not an academic problem – it’s a constitutional crisis.

Stop the Funding Before It’s Too Late

Both Aidan Johnston and Jared Yanis agree: the solution starts with Congress. Lawmakers need to immediately block further CDC and NIH spending on gun control research. Every dollar counts. Without action, anti-gun bureaucrats will continue using science as a weapon, censoring opposing data and propping up policies with research built on bias. It’s time to defund the propaganda machine – and get back to real public health.