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(CNN) ––
President Joe Biden commemorated the nine-year anniversary of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Tuesday.
On the anniversary, the president took aim at his administration's projects to combat gun violence, while multiple efforts by Democrats in Congress to pass stricter gun laws have repeatedly failed.
"Twenty precious first graders, six heroic educators, one gunman. In an act of inconceivable violence, everything changed that morning for you, and the nation was shocked," Biden said in a video posted Tuesday.
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The president said it was "one of the saddest days" of the Barack Obama administration.
"We were close to legislation, but we fell short," added Biden of the push to enact stricter gun laws in the immediate aftermath of the Newtown, Connecticut shooting.
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He continued: "It was very frustrating, and it continues to be frustrating now for you, me and many others in Parkland, Florida; and Oxford, Michigan. And in communities across the country. These terrifying shootings make national headlines and embarrass us. as a nation. "
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What Biden Asked the Senate for on the Sandy Hook Anniversary
The president asked the Senate to pass three bills.
One about background checks and one aimed at keeping guns out of the abusers' reach.
The third is the so-called Build Back Better Act, which includes programs for community violence intervention.
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"We owe all these families more than our prayers. We owe them action," Biden insisted on those who have suffered gun violence.
Earlier this year, Biden unveiled a series of executive actions aimed at removing certain weapons from the hands of criminals.
Also to allocate resources to the prevention of community violence.
These measures included expanding background checks for certain types of weapons.
Also regulate stabilizing structures built for pistols.
In addition to restricting weapons known as "ghost weapons", they can be built using parts and instructions purchased online.
Added to this was making new investments in intervention programs for communities prone to violence.
And finally, create model legislation for states to pass.
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The challenge in the face of a divided Congress
But the limited scope of the president's actions underscores the challenge he faces in passing gun legislation in a heavily evenly divided Senate.
"Certainly none of the executive actions alone is sufficient to fully resolve this problem. So the president is asking Congress to act," a senior White House official told reporters on Tuesday.
Bipartisan talks on gun reform in the Senate fell through earlier this year.
In the wake of the Michigan school shooting earlier this month, Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, who represented Sandy Hook families and has made gun safety a centerpiece of his time in the Senate, he told CNN he was hopeful that negotiations could resume in the coming weeks.
This with the aim of producing some bipartisan reform.
Going forward, the White House plans to identify new ways to use existing authorities, the senior official said.
And he added that Biden can be expected to continue to ask Congress to pass the legislation.
The government has also faced obstacles in the absence of a permanent director of the Agency for Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF, for its acronym in English).
Without 60 votes for confirmation in the Senate, the White House withdrew David Chipman's name in September.
And he held Republicans accountable for failing to get Chipman's confirmation, despite concerns from some moderate Democrats about his gun control record.
"We are working to identify another highly qualified person to be director of the ATF," said the senior official.
And he also called Chipman an "incredible" candidate.
The official added: "We definitely know and need a new ATF director to continue work on preventing gun violence. But, we have shown that even without an ATF director, we will do everything we can to reduce gun violence." .
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