The House passed legislation today that intends to strengthen gun buyer background checks and is supported by both the National Rifle Association and gun control groups.

Passed by voice vote under suspension of the rules, the measure (HR 2640) would increase the amount of electronic data available to states for checking the criminal and mental health records of people who want to purchase guns.

The bill reached the floor quickly after the conclusion of negotiations led by New York Democrat Carolyn McCarthy, one of Congress’ strongest gun control advocates, and John D. Dingell of Michigan, a close Democratic ally of the NRA.

Under the bill, new funding would be authorized to help states enter their felony criminal convictions, mental disability and domestic violence records into the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System, which gun dealers use to search for information that would disqualify a person from buying a firearm.

McCarthy introduced a similar measure last Congress, but it languished in committee under the GOP majority despite the bill’s tepid approval from the NRA. This year, the mass killings at Virginia Tech created new urgency for the bill. Advocates of House-passed legislation say it likely would have prevented the gunman, Seung-Hui Cho, from buying a firearm because of his history of mental illness.