NSSF Honors U.S. Rep. Ben Cline as 2025 Legislator of the Year

WASHINGTON, April 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- NSSF^®, The Firearm Industry Trade Association, proudly honored U.S. Rep. Ben Cline (R-Va.) as the 2025 NSSF Legislator of the Year for his staunch support of NSSF-priority legislation in areas including defending the firearm industry's ability to engage in lawful commerce, safeguarding the Second Amendment rights of customers and promoting and protecting hunting and recreational target shooting.

"We are honored to present Congressman Ben Cline with the 2025 NSSF Legislator of the Year Award for his unwavering leadership on Capitol Hill to protect the firearm and ammunition industry," said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF Senior Vice President for Government & Public Affairs and General Counsel. "The list of legislative achievements by Congressman Cline to support the firearm industry is remarkable. Representative Cline has been a leader in reducing hurdles to lawful firearm ownership, including zeroing out the tax stamp fee for suppressors, short-barrel rifles and short-barrel shotguns in the One Big Beautiful Bill and preventing a politically-driven government shutdown to stymie the firearm industry from enabling Americans to lawfully purchase suppressors. Our industry, and the American public, is deeply grateful for Congressman Cline's fierce determination to protect our industry that makes the exercise of the Second Amendment possible for all Americans."

Congressman Cline took the reins of the Hearing Protection Act (H.R.404) upon the retirement of its previous sponsor, added the NSSF-supported Protecting Americans' Right to Silence (PARTS) Act, and grew support for the bill to the highest level in the past four congresses. The bill currently sits at 119 cosponsors. Rep. Cline also served a key role in securing the historic win in the One Big Beautiful Bill zeroing out the NFA tax, which has resulted in tens of thousands of new suppressor applicants. When the government was experiencing the longest shutdown in U.S. history, Congressman Cline championed NSSF-supported legislation — the Firearm Access During Shutdowns Act — to ensure that the firearm industry can continue to fully serve law-abiding Americans during government shutdowns. He also led 29 of his colleagues in sending a letter to Bureau Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) urging it to continue processing National Firearms Act (NFA) forms during the shutdown.

Congressman Cline's fierce advocacy for the firearm and ammunition history was evident even before 2025. When the industry was under attack by the Biden administration, Congressman Cline led the charge through the Appropriations process in pushing back against the Biden Firearm Export Ban.

Congressman Cline is supporting the following NSSF-supported Congressional bills:

• H.R. 987, Fair Access to Banking Act
  
  
• H.R. 45, Firearm Industry Nondiscrimination (FIND) Act
  
  
• H.R. 1181, Protecting Privacy in Purchases Act
  
  
• H.R. 556, Protecting Access for Hunters and Anglers Act
  
  
• H.R. 631, Protecting Americans' Right to Silence (PARTS) Act
  
  
• H.R. 1773, Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) Protection Act
  
  
• H.R. 1041, Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act
  
  
• H.R. 38, Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act
  
  
• H.R. 404, Hearing Protection Act (*lead sponsor)
  
  
• H.R. 5874, Firearm Access During Shutdowns Act

Congressman Cline earned an "A+" on NSSF's 2024 Congressional Report Card and was named to NSSF's inaugural 2024 "Dean's List," with a 100 percent voting and co-sponsorship record for NSSF priority legislation.

About NSSF
NSSF is the trade association for the firearm industry. Its mission is to promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports. Formed in 1961, NSSF has a membership of thousands of manufacturers, distributors, firearms retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen's organizations and publishers nationwide. For more information, visit nssf.org.

SOURCE NATIONAL SHOOTING SPORTS FOUNDATION