The agreement comes after the two parties appointed a special group in the Senate that worked for weeks to find compromises that both parties could accept.
The proposals do not go as far as Biden expressed a wish for, for example, there will be no total stop for automatic carbines.
But Senator Chris Murphy, who led the negotiations on behalf of the Democrats, still praises the new law package and describes it as the most important legislation in the area in nearly 30 years.
“This law will save lives,” Murphy wrote in a tweet.
Tougher background checks
The main proposal in the new law is a requirement for stricter background checks on people under the age of 21 when buying firearms. It has also been agreed to provide $ 11 billion in a campaign against mental illness and a further $ 2 billion to increase safety in schools.
In addition, the law is tightened for those who have been convicted of violence in close relationships and who want to buy weapons. Federal law prohibits the sale of weapons to people convicted of this type of crime. However, at present this only applies to cases involving violence against a person you married, lived with or had children with.
At the initiative of the Democrats, a larger number of relations will now be covered by the proposal.
Fight against the clock
Lawmakers have been fighting against the clock with the knowledge that any delays could have led to a loss of momentum following the school massacre in Uvalde, Texas, in which 19 children and two adults were shot dead and the act in a grocery store in Buffalo, where ten black people were killed. Both events occurred in May.
“The cross-party gun law is a step forward and will save lives. Although it is not everything we would have liked, it is a law we are in dire need of,” Senate Majority Leader Democrat Chuck Schumer said in a statement.
The hope from a democratic point of view is that the law will be able to be hammered through by the weekend, before the members have a two-week break.
If this is the case, the House of Representatives is expected to have its say shortly afterwards, after which the legislation will be sent to Biden.