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WATERLOO, Iowa (KWWL)- In the wake of mass shootings at a hospital in Tulsa, a supermarket in Buffalo, and an elementary school in Uvalde, lawmakers are under growing pressure to take action.

House Democrats are pushing legislation that, among other things, would raise the legal age to buy an assault weapon from 18 to 21 and make it a federal offense to sell or possess high-capacity magazines. A bipartisan group of Senators is working on a bill that includes boosting school security measures and expanding background checks.

There is also growing criticism of some of the Republican members of Congress over the amount of campaign contributions they have accepted from the National Rifle Association.

According to the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, Senator Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, ranks sixth among all current senators in NRA contributions. As of 2019, the center said Ernst received $3,129,723 in her political career from the NRA. Senator Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has accepted more than $225,000 in his career. Neither Grassley nor Ernst responded to a request for comment from KWWL on Thursday.

KWWL also searched for NRA contributions on the Federal Election Commissions website.

"Congresswoman Hinson supports the Second Amendment," Hinson Campaign Manager Sophie Crowell said in a written statement. "In Congress, she's focused on bolstering school safety, equipping law enforcement with resources and training, and delivering critical mental health resources to our communities to prevent gun violence."

None of the other members of Iowa's Republican Congressional delegation responded to KWWL's request for comment and questions about how much money they received from the NRA.

lth resources to our communities to prevent gun violence."

Megan Goldberg, an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Cornell College, said there is not much research to support the idea that special interest groups can buy votes in Congress. Instead, the significant donations can buy meeting time with lawmakers.

"Interest groups donate to candidates who already support their policies, which buys them access later," she said. "It buys them energy and effort on the part of that member of Congress, but it doesn't always change that vote at the end."

Dr. Chris Larimer, a Professor of Political Science at theUniversity of Northern Iowa, Coordinator of UNI'sMaster in Public PolicyProgram and KWWL Political Analyst said the NRA does not spend as much on contributions to candidates as compared to other groups. However, the organization is still a powerful force in politics.

"It's not just isolated to one region of the country.," Larimer said. "They do have a lot of political force because they have large numbers, they are well financed and geographically dispersed across the country."

Goldberg said the reak power of the NRA is its ability to mobilize its base, for or against a candidate, particularly in a primary.

"The NRA is good at getting their members to turn out to vote," she said. "Primaries are low turnout elections, and they're low information, so the NRA can be powerful, especially in state primary elections when you're talking about state legislators."

The NRA does report cards for politicians, grading their past votes and willingness to adopt gun control measures. Goldberg said even without spending any money, the NRA still exerts pressure on Republican lawmakers. Many are fearful of what could happen if they go against the NRA.

"There's probably some fear of backlash among especially Republican candidates that a bad grade by the NRA could be used by an opponent later, even if the NRA isn't directly sort of spending any money there," Goldberg said.

Larimer said an A or A-Plus grade from the NRA can influence a Republican primary. It can mean more for specific candidates depending on the districts they are running for.

"That's viewed as more credibility on what is considered Republican issues," he said.

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Tracking the NRA's Contributions to Iowa's Republican members of Congress - kwwl.com