As Congress debates what measures it can take to address rampant gun violence in the United States, there is hope that some measures to rein it in can be passed. While the final package of reforms is still being hammered out, the U.S. business community has a message to Congress on gun reforms: just do something.

On Thursday, Axios published a letter signed by 220 CEOs in which they urged the U.S. Senate to "take immediate action" to reduce gun violence. The letter includes CEOs from a diverse array of companies that include Levi Strauss & Co., Dick's Sporting Goods, Lululemon, Lyft and Bain Capital.

The CEO's letter painted an expansive portrait of the state of gun violence in the United States, painting it as a series of interlocking business, public health and economic crises rolled into one larger dilemma.

Pointing to the recent mass shootings at a Tops supermarket in Buffalo, New York on May 14, the killings at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas on May 24 and other mass shootings that took place between the two, the companies said the amount of violence showcased the consequences of a "lack of action" from the Senate.

Turning to statistics that showcase the volume of mass shootings in the United States. The CEOs decried the "gun violence epidemic" as a "public health crisis that continues to devastate communities", noting the disproportionate impact they have on Black and Brown communities.

They also framed the scale of the violence in economic terms to demonstrate their concern. Noting statistics that show how the violence translates into economic costs, the CEOs noted that gun violence costs American taxpayers about $280 billion annually as well as $1.4 million every day in productivity and revenue costs. Left unaddressed, they note how the violence scares away investment and jobs from the communities that require them the most.

"We urge the Senate to take immediate action. Gun violence can be prevented. Our families, our communities, and our places of business are depending on you,” the authors wrote.

The CEOs’ letter comes amidst bipartisan negotiations in the Senate led by Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. With the endorsement of their party leaders, the duo has been working to hammer out a deal that will be acceptable for both sides of the aisle that may include expanded background checks and new red flag laws.

The House passed its own gun control legislation on Wednesday called the Protecting Our Kids Act, but it is unlikely to pass in the Senate amidst Republican opposition.

These developments also come on the heels of congressional hearings into gun control that include testimonies from families of the victims of the shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde. Several of these witnesses decried Congress’ inability to do more to prevent mass shootings and called for new legislation to remedy this.

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